Peas in July
Mine are still in bloom, so it seems unlikely that I’ll have peas for the Fourth. Being a cool season crop, you can plant them early in spring, weather willing and conceivably have them on your plate for July Fourth.
But what fun to watch how fast they shoot up! And the plants are so pretty with their pink and magenta blossoms that I put them and the tender shoots into a green salad that is so “of the moment”, along with my speckled trout lettuces, mesclun and endives. Pretty soon there will be calendula and nasturtiums too!
I usually like to grow a few types of peas. The English shelling peas are the treat to go with the traditional July 4th meal, but sugar snaps and snow peas also have their place in my garden. Especially because peas actually improve the area where they’re grown by fixing nitrogen in the soil.
Once you grow your own peas, you’ll never eat another pea from a can…I promise you.
