We do love our peas! Sweet green garden peas are the highlight of the garden - our favorite raw snack as we work in the garden, or stroll through the lush green rows showing off the crops to visitors. Sharing a couple of fat crispy pods of peas with gardening novices is always fun! Those fresh-off-the-vine peas have converted more folks to growing a bit of garden than all the books in the library, I'm sure!
Every garden season, our main focus always seems to be the PEAS. When to get them in the ground, is it too wet, too cold still, will they sprout, how are they growing, is it time to tie them up, are the pods filled out enough to pick, will the blight ruin the crop, are they tasty, and on and on, until the last pea is in the freezer for the year!
Shelling peas is such a family tradition, I can't even remember ever NOT doing it!! The back yard saw a lot of pea shelling and string bean snapping while we were growing up.
We used to have a dog that would lay unseen under one of our chairs as we gathered in a circle around a washtub of peapods, shelling the peas into pots at our feet. Buttons would quietly inch forward until she could gobble a mouthful of peas before we noticed her! We always scolded her, not for eating the peas, but for not doing her OWN shelling!
Every garden season, our main focus always seems to be the PEAS. When to get them in the ground, is it too wet, too cold still, will they sprout, how are they growing, is it time to tie them up, are the pods filled out enough to pick, will the blight ruin the crop, are they tasty, and on and on, until the last pea is in the freezer for the year!
Shelling peas is such a family tradition, I can't even remember ever NOT doing it!! The back yard saw a lot of pea shelling and string bean snapping while we were growing up.
We used to have a dog that would lay unseen under one of our chairs as we gathered in a circle around a washtub of peapods, shelling the peas into pots at our feet. Buttons would quietly inch forward until she could gobble a mouthful of peas before we noticed her! We always scolded her, not for eating the peas, but for not doing her OWN shelling!
Mom has grown Little Marvel peas for a coon's age. Mom and Dad grew the Tall Telephone variety for many years when we were young. While super productive, they are very labor intensive, requiring extensive trellising - as their name suggests. The Little Marvels are only 36-40" high on an average year, although they have been known to ambitiously reach for the 5' mark. They usually have 7 fat little sweetly tasty peas to a pod.This year I did plant a short experimental row of Early Frosty peas, and we were pleased with their growth, yield, and flavor. We may go for a longer row of them next spring
Mom's favorite part - they are in the bag, ready to freeze!
After all the work (which was a labor of love), we ended up with several dozen 1-cup baggies of peas to enjoy through those garden-less winter months.
Whether gently heated with a knob of butter and dash of nutmeg, or simply thawed and tossed into a crispy green salad, or included as a must-have in our favorite Tuna Casserole, the tender green peas are our bit of garden sunshine - worth all the fussing and bother, for sure!
I can almost taste them!!!
ReplyDelete