My Plant ‘n pick Pea Patch Pproduces even in hot Climates

Peas are the ultimate crop for the lazy gardener. Using my wide row method, you can plant them in minutes and come back weeks later to harvest them. There’s no weeding, side-dressing, staking，or hilling. . .there’s just no work at all to growing tasty fresh peas anywhere in any climate.

People in the South often complain to me, “Dick, it’s just too hot down here to grow English peas. They start growing okay when the weather is cool but then it gets hot and the peas don’t produce.” My wide row method solves this problem.

I once brought 2 bushels of fresh-picked peas from my Florida test garden to a class I was giving nearby. I set the peas down in the middle of the crowd and said, “Taste for yourself.” These Florida gardeners sampled the peas and said, “They’re great!”

The secret to “no-work” peas and a good harvest in warm climates is to plant them in wide rows. Choose a dwarf variety such as Little Marvel, Progress No. 9, or Wando (which fills its pods well in warm weather). Try +Snow Peas in wide rows if you do Chinese cooking. You’ll have plenty. Then, as early in the season as you can, work your soil a couple of times.

Because peas are legumes, they don’t need much fertilizer—especially nitrogen. A day or two before planting, I broadcast 1 or 2 pounds of 5-10-10 commercial fertilizer over each 100 square feet of garden space. I work it into the top 2 to 3 inches of soil.

Don’t worry about cold weather—peas will stand many freezes. Treat the seeds with a protectant and sow them in rows at least 16 inches wide. (I often grow peas in 3- or 4-foot-wide rows.) Tamp them down and cover with soil from alongside the row, or simply roto-till them in a few inches.

No weeding

When the peas come up, they’ll quickly screen out the sun from hitting weeds which are trying to grow up through the peas. You never have to weed a good wide row of peas. Most important for southern gardeners, the shade keeps the soil cool and moist. This practically assures steady growth of vines, pods, and peas. In a single row of peas, you don’t get this cooling, moisture-saving effect. In the South, single rows

Of peas dry out, the roots and plants become parched, and the harvest, if there’s any, is puny and not too tasty. But with wide rows, as I learned in Florida, the peas are prolific and sweet even in a very hot season.

With a dwarf variety like Little Marvel you’ll find that the plants in a wide row won’t need staking. The only pods in the wide rows that sometimes hit the ground are those on the outside of each row. Most of the peas will be in the air, dry, and easy to get to when you’re picking.

Use two hands to pick peas, so that you won’t damage the brittle vines or uproot the plants. Hold onto the pea vine with one hand, and pick off the pods with the other.

English peas are very sweet because of their high sugar content. However, after picking, the sugar starts turning to starch. That’s why it’s important to rush the peas into the kitchen, so you can shell and cook them.

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