Shelling peas

[CrealCritter]

I grow over 200 row-feet of peas. I have settled with planting in succession with the first variety being Little Marvel planted before last frost, then Maestro, and Wando last. Wando is the most heat tolerant and extends pea season by a couple weeks.

I tried purple pod peas this past spring. I was hoping for something easier to pick. That they were. very pretty flowers and plants. The texture of the peas was terrible. Not even edible. Grainy and smushy. I like Maestro peas best that are succulent and "pop" when bitten into.

I planted a 25 foot row of Alaska a few years ago. They grew and produced quickly and also popped just like you explained too. Never tried Maestro but it seems to be a favorite here. So I think I'll give them a try.

 

[tortoise]

I planted Alaska last year also, but they didn't germinate well. We've had a couple poor years for peas in a row here. I am going to try them again next year! I try new varieties [of everything] each year just because. variety is good!

 

[CrealCritter]

I planted Alaska last year also, but they didn't germinate well. We've had a couple poor years for peas in a row here. I am going to try them again next year! I try new varieties [of everything] each year just because. variety is good!

Alaska - 5 or 6 peas per pod and if I remember correctly they only get about 2' tall. But they are loaded down with pods. Peas, I always plant two or three per hole and thin out to 1. Because your right, peas really don't germinate very well.

It's always really wet in late winter / early spring. I mostly have to rake up the rows high and trench deep in my spring garden or else most seedlings drown. My spring garden is on a slight two way slope. Higher on the south & east sides. So I have my draninage trench on the west side, that runs north and south down to the creek. I run my raised rows run west to east so the rain drain off into the north / south facing trench. After the spring rains subside I fertlize, cultivate and mulch in-between the rasised rows to conserve water and keep the weeds down.

Here's what my Alaska shelling peas looked like in spring of 2017 they are on the left, the ones on the right were sugar peas, that we didn't like much. I can't remember the type they we're though. They really spread so they need the rows spaced further than 3' apart like is pictured. So you can get in there and cultivate, weed and pick.

 

[baymule]

I think I'll plant green peas in the spring. We love them, but haven't really tried to plant them since we moved.

 

[flowerbug]

Green shelling pea. I just really remember sneaking into the garden and eating them raw.

a lot of peas are great that way. we will stand there and eat them so they never make it in the house...

i have a few that work well that way. Dwarf Gray Sugar Pod is also good as a fresh pod to eat. the dry peas aren't that great for cooking and eating, but if i were hungry enough i'd have no problem surviving off them. i also have a green soup pea that works well when shelled young. these have so many tendrils on them that they look like little fuzz balls when they are growing. since they hold onto each other i don't plant them on any supports, but they do eventually get blown over. they are an excellent dried soup pea too.

i have some others too, but since i didn't keep them fully segregated when growing i can't say exactly what they may be. Early Alaska, Wando, and a few others too in the mix. i just plant them by shape and color in blocks and hope they work out ok.

i'd gotten away from growing peas for a few years, but this past spring i planted some to renew my seed stocks and had an excellent harvest.

 

[Britesea]

Those tendrils are good eatin' too

 

[flowerbug]

Those tendrils are good eatin' too

that reminds me that i eat the green silk off corn on the cob too as it tastes just like the corn. we microwave the corn to cook it and i leave the silk on so it is good. i don't even put butter on the corn.

 

[Britesea]

There are a lot of parts of our veggies that most people don't eat. Radish leaves have a mild bite like watercress, but the texture means they need to be cooked- I've done both cream soup and stir fry with them.,. and the spent cobs for corn can be boiled to make a "corn broth" that adds a lot of flavor to a chowder. Carrot greens are edible too.
One of the prettiest presentations I ever saw was a "nest" of corn silk that had been quickly fried to make it crispy, and then a poached egg had been slipped into the nest with a few sprinkles of fresh herbs.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

That's beautiful - at first glance whodda thought it was edible?

 

[flowerbug]

There are a lot of parts of our veggies that most people don't eat. Radish leaves have a mild bite like watercress, but the texture means they need to be cooked- I've done both cream soup and stir fry with them.,. and the spent cobs for corn can be boiled to make a "corn broth" that adds a lot of flavor to a chowder. Carrot greens are edible too.
One of the prettiest presentations I ever saw was a "nest" of corn silk that had been quickly fried to make it crispy, and then a poached egg had been slipped into the nest with a few sprinkles of fresh herbs.
View attachment 12733

i'm not much into presentation but that is cute.

radish sprouts i will eat in the gardens, but i don't cook with them. i don't mind the texture of the leaves. they remind me enough of spinach in that regards, thicker leaves, i like chard too eaten raw or beet greens.

the radishes get too hot and grow quickly enough that i don't normally eat them. i sent an arm sized daikon radish to a friend because he was talking about radishes so i told him i'd send him one to try out. i've not seen him since then as he lives a ways away. will be funny to talk to him about that. i do think they ate it.