How to plant peas

I am behind in my gardening, but I just planted my snow peas, and am going to plant snap peas tonight, or tomorrow.  In pea planting, there is so much chance for success, that you can hardly go wrong.  Early in the spring find a spot that will get lots of sunshine.  You will either want to plant regular peas which have to be shelled, or you will choose edible pod peas which are either snow or snap. I choose the  edible peas, as I don’t have time usually to shell peas.  Soak your peas for an hour at least,  and up to a day in advance. Drain the water, and then coat the peas with inoculant.  It helps the peas to grow vigorously  and to capture the nitrogen from the soil. I usually buy legume inoculant from a garden store, or from wherever I have ordered my seeds from. Lately I have been buying from Johnny’s Seeds. Plant the coated seeds about 2 – 3 inches apart, beneath some sort of support. You can use fencing, or strings or anything the vines will be able to grow up.  The thing I like about peas is that they are full of good green veggie antioxidants, and are a good source of protein, and they can be raw or cooked. There are so many good ways to cook them.  Growing them also actually enriches your soil, and brings up more nitrogen, so it is good to move them to a new location from year to year.  Once they start to bear, pick consistently to keep the peas coming.  Snowpeas should be let to grow a little fatter to let the peas get plump inside. Snappeas should be picked as soon as they are about two inches long – their peas inside aren’t supposed to get big.  One year, I let the snowpeas get too big and the shells were tough, but we still ate them – after a fun little shucking session with Gpa and Uncle Johnny. Another hint – put relatives to work – they love it!