Tom Carey: Peas right for summer

As summer growing conditions approach, black-eyed peas (not the hip-hop musical group), crowder peas, yard-long beans and cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) can be grown in our gardens as a substitute for green snap beans. Grown primarily for the mature seed in the pod, these peas are very nutritious, providing an excellent source of fiber, calcium, folate, and vitamin A to our diets.

Plant Southern peas using the same process as with any pole-bean or English pea. Space them 3 inches apart along the base of a trellis about 2 inches deep into loosened ground. Southern peas grow well in poor soil, especially the sandy infertile conditions found in unimproved land we struggle with in our Florida gardens. Nitrogen fixing bacteria attach to its roots, generating its own fertilizer from thin air, inoculating the seeds with these microbes. The seeds should germinate and sprout in a few days. As they climb the trellis, manage its tumultuous growth by thinning to avoid tangled areas that harbor leaf diseases or insect pests.

Flowers start making an appearance in six weeks. Many beneficial insects seek out the nectar and pollen from the prolific growth, so limit any use of toxic pesticides. The only insect pests I have had to deal with are aphids. Since we are growing this crop in the summer, our expected heavy rains usually rinse away most of these small suckers. Once temperatures descend in autumn, I usually resort back to growing green snap beans, although these peas will grow until first frost.

Who has time to shell peas and beans these days? If you harvest early, the solid, young pea pods can be prepared like snap beans, shell and all. But this immature harvest must be judiciously timed, almost on a daily basis; otherwise the peas will form in the pods. At this point of the crop’s life cycle, the pod becomes inedible and hours of shelling are then required. The idyllic picture of sitting on the porch, casually shelling peas while gossiping with compatriots has been relegated to a historical cliché. But don’t worry; tabletop pea shelling appliances are affordably priced.

To contend with your inevitable bumper crop, blanch and freeze serving size portions to prepare for the traditional New Year’s ‘good luck’ meal of peas and greens. The typical Southern menu of pork-flavored peas with onions and hot peppers is best served with cornbread. Many exotic recipes from around the world date back thousands of years. Put some South in your mouth.

While General Sherman’s troops considered Southern peas unfit for human consumption, luckily, we know better.

Tom Carey is the owner of Sundew Gardens, a you-pick gardening business in Oviedo. Visit the Sundew Gardens Facebook page.