One of the joys of a backyard garden is harvesting a mess of peas – green peas, or sweet peas as I call them. They are called sweet peas because the tasty veggies have both sugar and starch. At the same time, they are extremely healthy, loaded with something called phytonutrients, which provide key antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. That’s all well and good, but the main reason I plant sweet peas is because there is nothing on God’s earth as tasty as a fresh pea from the garden. Frozen or canned sweet peas are good and good for you, but they are not even in the same league as fresh, sweet peas picked that day and cooked that evening.
Peas are attractive for backyard gardeners with limited space because if you get them in early, planting by mid-March so they will produce early. Then you can pull the plants and put in a late crop of corn or green beans, thus making the maximum use of your space.
This spring I decided to plant a few rows of peas and I made the wise decision to put a two-foot chicken wire fence between the rows so the plants would climb.
One of the problems with peas is that when the vegetables ripen, they pull down the vines and picking (or even finding the peas) becomes difficult. I believe peas actually hide from you. You search high and low, trying to pick all the ripe pea pods, and then as you are leaving the garden, you glance back and see ten ripe pods hanging in plain view. I’m convinced they deliberately hide. Even on a fence, peas can be hard to see, but if they grow tall, it makes it much easier to pick them and saves on back aches from stooping over.
There is no secret to cooking fresh peas. Use a minimum amount of water, add a little salt and boil gently for about 25 minutes. Where frozen peas are done almost as soon as the water boils, it takes a little longer for fresh peas. Cook only until tender, no longer.
I have had three pickings so far, and expect one more before I pull up the plants. I am already looking forward to next spring, and planting the delicious little vegetables again.