Most food plants date back to prehistoric times and there is evidence of man’s use of peas dating back to the Bronze Age.
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Today peas are still among the easiest and most productive vegetables we grow.
To have crisp, home-grown peas to compliment the festive season you can plant seeds now.
Peas do best in cool weather and in most areas can be planted throughout winter, spring and in some places, autumn.
While the plants are not frost tender, the flowers will fail to set pods if even the slightest frost occurs at flowering time.
Peas prefer soils that are not excessively acidic and respond well to an application of lime applied two to three months prior to sowing.
As it is too late to apply this application now, an alternative method is to sow the seed directly into a band of 50/50 superphosphate and lime, using a good handful per metre of row, but take care not to let the seed come into direct contact with it.
The main reason for using lime is to provide a suitable environment for the rhizoidal or nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in conjunction with peas and other legumes.
Peas grow in almost any well-drained soil and need plenty of sunlight to crop well.
To plant, mark out a drill five centimetres deep and press the seeds into the soil leaving five centimetres between each seed. Allow 60 centimetres between rows. Cover seeds with a layer of soil and firm down.
If the soil is damp (after rain) no watering is required until seedlings appear as too much water may rot the seeds.
Plant two, three-metre rows at fourteen-day intervals to give succession cropping.
You can expect to pick peas about 12-16 weeks from planting.
Peas require some support to keep them off the ground and the simplest form is to place a number of short sticks in the soil in a cris-cross pattern.
Tall growers like Greenfeast and Telephone which crop for a longer period need a sturdy trellis for support.
Keep the weeds down and cultivate between rows often to keep the texture of the topsoil fine. The soil can be hilled around the plants once well established to assist water run off.
Of all the pea varieties l like Early Crop Massey and Greenfeast, which are excellent varieties and good value for space. Peas are at their sweetest just as the pods are nicely filled, but not too tight.
At this stage the sugar content is highest, but as the pea matures the sugars are converted to starch and the flavour deteriorates.
This process continues after harvest, but can be slowed by keeping the pods in the refrigerator or better still – eat immediately. Once veins start to appear on the pods they become very tough and are well past harvesting.
DIARY
September 2: The Westbury Garden Club’s Spring Flower Show at Westbury Town Hall. Lyall Street, Westbury from 1.30pm-4pm.
September 19: The Australian Plant Society meets at the Max Fry Hall on Gorge Rd, Trevallyn, at 7.30pm. Guest presenter will be Tim Rudman speaking on the current status of Mrytle rust in Tasmania. Visitors are welcome. For more information visit www.apstasnorth.org
September 20: The Launceston Horticultural Society meets at Windmill Hill Hall, High Street, Launceston at 8pm. Home made supper.
September 21: The Launceston Orchid Society meets at the Newnham Uniting Church Hall, George Town Road, Newnham at 7pm. Visitors most welcome.
Daily: The Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden, at Romaine, Burnie 9am to 5pm.