Today's harvest was a pile of peas and a few Meyer lemons. The lemons will ripen up with a few days inside on the window sill. The peas will not last that long. They will disappear at dinner time. I'm still deciding how to cook them, but likely straight up with a little salt and butter.
I have forgotten, again, what variety of pea I planted where. I planted 3 types of peas this year in my parents garden and 2 types in my garden. My parents have been picking theirs for a week or so now. This is my first pea harvest. These peas were planted on St Patrick's Day. Though I gave them a nice 5 foot trellis thinking they were tall vines, they ended up only about 1 foot tall, at most.
The pods are pretty, but small. A few pods are plump with 5 big peas inside, most have 4, and some have only 1, 2, 3 peas. I was wondering why so few pods are full. After reading a bit, it seems that its a pollination issue. Peas self pollinate, but rainy weather can interfere. My guess is that the each pea in the pod needs to be pollinated with its own pollen grain to mature and that this did not go so well for this crop. We have had some serious rain this spring. I remember going out and photographing the flowers in the rain. I will see if I can find a wet-pea-flower-photo.
My other pea variety, also of unknown name, is growing taller, maybe about three feet tall now. The pods are almost ripe - I think they need another week. They look like they will be fatter and fuller than this batch.
9 comments:
Your peas look great. I am a bit behind you so no peas yet for me..lol..I read somewhere that sugar snap type grows tall, but not sure myself. I planted 3 different kind all over the garden. My beans and peas are growing at the same time. Weird season we had here ha :]
Hulya
Peas taste best raw, you do not need to cook fresh peas. Shell and eat.
WOW! Those peas are gorgeous!!!
Seeing these photos have inspired me to plant peas for fall harvest. I'm a new vegetable gardener, and your blog is my constant inspiration. Thanks!
Alaiyo
Straight up…salt/butter, delicious.
My peas didn’t get so tall either this time around even though conditions were pretty much ideal earlier in my spring, but they were tasty to the last…looking for another variety that will climb the trellis to its height this fall planting season.
Way to go on the lemons! Still trying to get my Meye to do something for me.
I'm in the Vancouver BC area and my peas are (sadly) only about 3 inches tall. We've had a brutally cold & wet Spring so everything is behind. Your peas make me a little green with envy! I didn't realize your area was so much ahead of mine.
Look at all of those peas! I am envious. I have never had that many make it to the house. My family goes into the garden, plucks them and eats them on the spot. My husband says they are like candy.
I am on the south shore & we have been enjoying peas for about 2 weeks. Picked another bowl tonight. I planted them just before St. Paddy's Day. My sugar snaps peas are over 5 ft tall, but my snow peas are only about 3 ft. Most of our peas only make it off the vine & into my children's mouths...we're lucky if they make it to the dinner table.
Love your blog btw!
Hey Kathy,
I'm a big fan of the blog!! I've just built a 150+ sq. ft. raised bed garden in a sunny corner of our lot here in Hopkinton, MA and I wanted to ask your thoughts on planting peas before tomatoes in the same spot (given space constraints). In your opinion, is there enough to get the peas to come in if I were to use an early dwarf pea variety and have strong tomato transplants ready in wait to plant? Maybe I just have wishful thinking.
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