Photo credit: pictographic-food.com
If you’re planning to plant peas this spring, now is the time to do it. Peas take 60 days to go from seed to your dinner table, plus they’re a cool weather plant that does not like the warm days of June.
Peas are incredibly easy to grow — and perfect for the juvenile gardeners in your family. Just plant the seeds 2″ apart and place your rows 2′ apart. Plant vining types in double rows 6-8″ apart on either side of trellises such as these. Small bean teepees are another fun way to grow your peas.
Peas are usually ready to pick about three weeks after the plants flower, but pick a test pod and taste it to be certain. Peas taste best when eaten immediately after picking, so wander out to your garden shortly before dinner.
Too cook fresh peas, shell them and add them to a shallow pot of boiling water. Cook for only a few minutes because overcooking ruins the flavor. Add a dash of salt and maybe a little butter and your peas are ready to be devoured.
If you have a bounty of peas and it’s more than you can eat, you can easily freeze them. Bring a pot of water to a boil. While you’re waiting, shell the peas. Once the water is boiling, blanch the peas — cook for exactly two minutes, remove from heat, and place the peas in a bowl of ice water for two minutes. Remove and dry on a kitchen towel. Once dry, put the peas in freezer bags or containers and freeze.
Finally, when you finish harvesting your peas, leave the vines in the ground, as the roots add nitrogen back to the soil.
