New Year's Is Pea Planting Season

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, you can harvest a variety of vegetables in the winter by planting in late summer/early fall and allowing the plants to establish themselves before the cold sets in.  But cool-loving peas buck this trend.  You can start peas in January and expect to harvest in late March or early February.  I like Sugar Snap peas because they yield more due to the fact that you eat both the pod and the peas.  And the kids absolutely love the sweet taste.  See the below photo that shows Snap Peas planted right after New Year – about 3 weeks growth.

Oh, here’s are two tips…Unlike other vegetables that gather nitrogen directly from the soil, peas gather it from the air and fix it in the soil with the aid of a special kind of bacteria.  If you have not grown peas before, you should consider purchasing this bacteria and adding it to the soil.  Also, peas come in bush and vine varieties so choose based on your space requirements but know that with compact bush varieties you will be trading off yield and flavor for space.