Peas Please!

It's another gorgeous day out there today! Spring has come a whole month early this year and things are starting to grow like crazy - even the maples trees are in full bloom! My early garden sowings of arugula and Black Seeded Simpson lettuce are doing very well and I have since planted a handful of other veggies including, 3 types of radishes, mache, mesclun and baby spinach.

Now it's time to get the peas in the ground! I was waiting to see if the weather could turn cold again, but apparently, spring is here to stay.. so it's time to get planting!

Who doesn't love just-picked garden peas? They taste like spring - although I'm also partial to spring asparagus, but that's a story for another time - and of course it's always fun to compete with the kids to see who can find the biggest pod (generally not me!).

There are 3 main types of peas - shell, snap and sugar. Our favourite type is Super Sugar Snap - a vigorous variety that can grow over 6-feet tall and bears a heavy crop of large edible pods filled with sweet peas! It's early, quick growing and disease resistant, and most importantly in my (humble) opinion, it's one of the best tasting peas in cultivation!

To grow peas, all you need is a sunny spot with rich organic soil. To beef up your soil before planting, add a thick layer of compost or aged manure. Plant your peas about an inch deep and an inch apart. Add netting if they're a climbing type. Depending on the variety, you can be enjoying succulent peas in just 50 days! Super Sugar Snaps take about 64 days, but are worth the 2 month wait!

Happy Gardening!