This is snowbird...not my favorite variety, but they were available and I planted them 3 inches apart in double row that was 25 feet in length. I planted them back in April. Sixty something days ago.
After waiting all that time for them to grow, picking was an enjoyable task, the weather was perfect, nice and cool. Peas like cool. The bed of oswego tea, or bergamot..or do you say Monarda...anyway..there is a big raised bed of bee balm directly next to the peas. The Monarda is blooming, and the hummingbirds were all over it. I hid in the pea patch while I was picking, and watched the courtship pendulum dance of the males.
The females seemed too busy pollinating to watch the males, who were making an increasingly wide arc, until it was almost a half circle. They were dipping and diving and showing their ruby red throats..which looked quite nice next to the red of the monarda.
The first picking of peas yielded 3 pounds and 2 ounces. Not bad, but not as good as I would have wanted. I will not grow Snowbird again. The flavor is nice, and I munched on a few peas fresh from the vine...there are always a few that don't make it into the house. I also gave a bag to a neighbor who happened by as I was picking.
There was also a bit of spinning this morning...88 yards...spun on the Great Wheel, and plied on the Ashford. It came to me in the form of roving, Judy passed it to me from Delly Delights, but was prepared by the Drafting Zone. It didn't have a name, so I am calling it "pea harvest".
12 comments:
gorgeous photos (as always!) - I love the hummingbird pic!
Lovely peas and beautiful Monarda. Is that Jacob Cline? I have Jacob Cline and he doesn't look that nice for me. Where do you have yours? Mine either doesn't get enough sun or the soil is too dry. Great hummingbird shot!
Beautiful photos and at this point I'd take any kind of peas! The deer ate the ones Sue planted right down to the ground. Lovely yarn and I love the name!
Meresy--
the monarda is not Jacob Cline..it is from a local wild stand that I took the seed from..it grows down along the river in some flood plains. I have a bed of it in the garden to attract the pollinators. It gets morning sun, but is in the shae by 3pm. The soil is on the moist side. I have a pink monarda too, that I got from Heritage Seeds in PA...it didn't have a name~ just pink bee balm. The leaves are a lighter green.
Thanks Spinpygora! And thanks for stopping by!
Leslie- sorry about your peas..the deer would eat mine too if we didn't have an 8ft. fence around the garden! Wish I could share some with ya!
HI! Love your peas. I tried a new kind, by mistake, which they aren't doing well(some short warm weather-liking kind, blech). I usually do the telephone pole kind. My kids love going out into the garden and eating the peas. ;0)
I wish we had Monardas that grew wild! And I love the Hummingbird shot that is so fantastic!
Beautiful hummingbird photo!
Do you freeze the peas? I never seem to get enough planted in time to have enough left for putting by.
It's pie cherry picking/drying time here. :-)
wyld~ Snowbird was a new type for me to try too...it seemed like a good idea at the time (dwarf variety...no trellis-no work)..but they just didn't yield the way I would like (and they were not as pretty, with white instead of purple flower... AND you have to bend over to pick them.)
kath- Wild Monarda is not as bold as the cultivated type, but it still is amazing, and has such fragrance (makes great tea too!)
fiberjoy- I eat peas fresh for as long as there are some on the vine, but the majority of them are blanched and frozen for winter use.
That is why I wanted a higher yield..you need a lot of peas to eat them once a week in the winter!
After they are frozen we eat them in stir fry mostly...but when they are fresh, steamed is just fine or even better.. fresh and crunchy in a pea salad!
What lovely photos and why do peas taste so very much better eaten before they get to the house I wonder :)
I so miss being able to gro veg and you have just reminded me I used to have bergamot in various shades in my other garden too , a truly lovely plant
What kind of pea *do* you prefer? Mine are pretty much spent. I'm just leaving them there to dry so I can try my hand at seed saving this year. I grew sugar snap. We also use it in stir fry. Some that got too big before picking got shelled and dehydrated.
Hi Leslie!
I've had great yields from Norli
snow pea...and Sugar Ann was a good snap and Sugar Daddy (another snap) is a good late grower...
I was not happy with Little Marvel, or Sugar Snap.
Lincoln and Wando are good Garden Peas...
and I still want to try out Blizzard and Sugar Bon, Sugar Rae...etc...So many peas...so little time!
Post a Comment