Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Give Peas a Chance


July 15, 2009

Spent the majority of the day cleaning a house that hadn't seen soap and water since 2005. The spider webs had been woven over and over upon themselves for lack of new space thus creating several afgans in the corners of the kitchen. Attractive. By 3 pm I had made a serious dent in the housework and headed to the garden.

Peas, peas and more peas. Supposedly a cool weather crop, this variety had outdone itself. Two weeks ago it was over 90 for several days in a row and after that, cool and rainy. Lately, it has been hot and humid. But these weather changes seem to just egg these guys on. The variety is Mammoth Melting Pea, an organic pea from Irish Eyes Garden City Seeds in Ellensburg, Wa. (www.irisheyesgardencityseeds.com). The package says they will grow 4-5 feet and need "trellising." I just used a metal fence post and covered it vertically with 2 foot wide chicken wire. My vines are well over 6 foot and still blooming !

When they are small they are very sweet and perfect for salads, no cutting needed. As they grow they are wonderful for just snacking on while wedding in the garden. Our garden is completely organic so no need to wash anything before eating. I've gotten pretty good at swiping 3-4 pods off the vine as I run by the pea pole with my lawn mower. Now some of the pods are quite full and I can snap it open with one hand and pop the peas directly in my mouth. Eventually I'll get some to the table, I might even cook some.

No comments:

Post a Comment