EASY-PEASY

FRESH OR COOKED, PEAS ARE DELICIOUS AND NUTRITIOUS AS WELL AS A SNAP TO PLANT AND GROW

- Jennifer Stackhouse

We are so used to buying a bag of peas from the freezer section of the supermarket that it seems strange to remember that peas grown in the garden come in pods not packets!

Fresh peas have lots of appeal because they are sweet and crunchy. Children who won’t eat green vegies can usually be drawn into eating peas they’ve plucked straight from the garden.

Immature green peas are very sweet. Indeed, snow peas — the flat green peas you eat pod and all — are a good choice to grow to get children involved in gardening as they are delicious and crop very quickly.

Snow peas can produce pods in as little as six to eight weeks after planting. But all peas are easy to plant, quick to grow and of course can be picked and eaten straight off the vine.

Not only are they easy to grow, they are nutritious, packed with protein, vitamin C, iron, niacin and zinc and plenty of dietary fibre. Frozen peas, because most are frozen soon after picking, are also rich in these dietary goodies.

Peas have a reputation for being fattening but the stats say otherwise: a typical serve, around 50g, provides around 125kJ while a 50g serve of snow peas has just 70kJ.

HOW TO GROW

Peas grow best through the cooler months of the year but snow peas can be planted well into spring for an early summer harvest. To keep up a steady supply, make several sowings through autumn, winter and early spring. Although peas are quick from seed they are also available as punnets of seedlings.

Peas of all sorts can be grown in vegetable gardens of any shape and size. In small spaces, grow them on a trellis to use vertical space or train vines to grow up a tripod of stakes in a raised vegie bed.