Picking Peas at the Farm
There’s so much to harvest in my new vegetable garden. We're all having so much fun watching these crops develop.
Most recently, we picked big bowls of peas - both shelling peas, which need to be removed from their pods before eating, and edible pods, which can be eaten whole. It’s important to plant peas as soon as possible in spring in order to get a bountiful harvest come summer. All our pea plants have been extremely prolific this season.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- We planted many peas along both sides of our long trellis in the center of my garden. On this side, our edible pods…
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- … And on this side, the shelling peas. All of them have been so prolific this summer, as with all our vegetables in this new space.
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- This photo was taken in May when all our pea seeds were planted. Pea seeds may be planted as soon as the soil temperature reaches 50-degrees Fahrenheit. Peas grow best at temperatures of 55 to 64-degrees Fahrenheit.
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- Peas can take as little as 54-days to mature, but they average about 60 to 70 days before they can be harvested.
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- Because of the weather and our very good soil, these peas developed quickly. And last week, these peas were plump, and ready to be picked.
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- The pea, Pisum sativum, is an annual herbaceous legume in the family Fabaceae.
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- Our peas are so fresh and green. The oldest known pea was found in Thailand – it was 3000-years old.
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- The pea plant can be bushy or climbing, with slender stems. The leaves are green, grow in pairs, and are generally oval shaped, sometimes with a point at the end.
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- Here, one can see the pea tendrils. Pea tendrils, also known as pea shoots, are the young leaves, flowers, stems, and vines of a pea plant – all parts are edible and taste like a cross between peas and spinach.
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- Because the pea plant is a climbing vine, the young tendrils have round hollow stems that allow it to climb easily up the trellis.
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- Here, one can see how the vines cling and climb. They are best grown on supports to keep them off the ground and away from many pests and diseases. We built the trellises using rebar and light metal fencing. They support our peas, as well as our cucumber crops. Elvira is able to pick the peas right off the trellising vines.
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- Picking is best done in the early hours of the day before it gets too warm.
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- Harvest green peas when pods start to fatten, but before peas get too large. Be careful to pinch peas gently from the vine without tugging because the vines are fragile and easy to break.
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- Shelling peas are also sometimes called garden peas, sweet peas or English peas. The pods are firm and rounded, and the peas inside are sweet and may be eaten raw or cooked.
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- The pods can range in size from four to 15-centimeters long and about one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half centimeters wide. Each pod contains between two and 10-peas.
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- Elvira also picked a bowl of edible pods. An entire pea harvest usually lasts one to two weeks. I hope your pea crops have done as well as mine.
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- Here is a bowl of the shelling peas in my kitchen after I blanched them in boiling water and then quickly moved them into an ice bath before draining.
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- Also in the garden – look at our potatoes. The potatoes aren’t ready yet, but our crop is growing beautifully. Potatoes are tubers, which grow underground. Without these tops, potato plants cannot perform photosynthesis, and the tubers will not grow.
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- Here’s a peek at our onions – we are growing yellow, red, and white varieties.
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- And the peppers are looking perfect. Sweet bell peppers are popular in the garden – all grassy in flavor and super-crunchy in texture. I love making stuffed peppers – so easy and so delicious.
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- We also grow hot peppers. Always be careful when picking peppers – keep the hot ones separated from the sweet ones, so there is no surprise in the kitchen.
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- This is our bed of fava beans. Vicia faba, also known as the broad bean or fava bean is an ancient member of the pea family. They have a nutty taste and buttery texture. I always grow lots of fava beans.
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- And of course, our growing eggplant. While I love to pick eggplants when they are still small, ours need a little more time.
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- There has been so much growth in this vegetable garden these last couple of weeks – there’s always something delicious to pick. Many of you often ask what I do with all these vegetables. I share them with my family and friends, and my staff at the farm. They are also used for photo and video shoots for television shows. And whatever is left over goes to my precious chickens, peafowl, and geese. Happy harvesting!
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