Peas
Pisum sativum
T
he Chinese have been cultivating peas on
a grand scale for more than 4,000 years,
and it isn’t just the snow pea that we usually
associate with stir-fried Asian dishes.
Over the years, especially in recent times,
we’ve grafted and otherwise crossbred several
ancient varieties and come up with a set of ap
parently unbeatable characteristics.
The sugar snap pea comes from its rapidly
growing bush (easier to harvest mechanically)
or trellis (better, in my opinion for the small
garden) to the plate, complete with pod and all.
The trellis allows for better air circulation
than the bush and reduces Fusarium wilt,
which turns the lower leaves brown. Peas don’t
do well with overhead watering , so my new
drip-feed line along with mulch at ground level
has managed to keep the roots cool and retain
moisture, thus defeating the wilt so far. I dis
covered the word inoculant, which is a liquid
used to coat the peas before planting
My soil was about 40ºF, which is the low
end of the temperature most suited to ger
mination (the upper end is 75ºF). But once the
plants saw the light, they took off in grand style.
I had added a little bonemeal along with my
Intrepid fertilizer and couldn’t have been more
delighted with their fresh-picked sweetness in
a lovely early evening stir-fry . . . along with the
tendrils that can be snipped from the tops of
the vines, about 5 inches above the pods.
There are several varieties of the sugar snap
pea, but the one I like best also happens to be
one of the nation’s most popular, Oregon Sugar
Pod II, developed by Oregon State University.
For some reason, many children just don’t
like peas. Perhaps it’s because they are hard to
chase around the plate or their little outer shells
don’t chew up easily. But they have always been
well received at our family table—with just a
few leaves of fresh mint and a teaspoonful of
brown sugar. What child could object?
We also use them to make a bright green
version of the velvet sauce I usually make with
parsnips (see page 204), but peas must be
passed through a fine sieve to remove the shells.
The Numbers
For each 100 g boiled (3.5 oz ; ½ cup): 84 calories, 0 g
fat, 0 g saturated fat, 16 g carbohydrate, 5 g protein,
5 g dietary fiber, 3 mg sodium
Snow or sugar snap peas per 100 g cooked (3.5 oz ;
½ cup): 59 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 7 g carbo
hydrate, 2 g protein, 2 g dietary fiber, 12 mg sodium
206 • GROWING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE
