Growing Your Own Vegetables: An Encyclopedia of Country Living Guide by Carla Emery, Lorene Edwards Forkner
Authors: Carla Emery, Lorene Edwards Forkner
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in practice some propping will help conserve garden space.
Snow peas: Harvested before the seeds inside have begun to form, the flat pods are completely edible and widely used in Asian stir-fries or eaten fresh in salads. Snow peas are available in both bush and climbing varieties.
Snap peas: When fully mature, the juicy edible pods are filled with full-sized peas, resulting in more wonderful, unbeatable garden pea flavor without the work of shelling. Most snap pea vines require some support.
PLANTING: Impervious to cold spring weather, peas are one of the earliest crops to go into the garden. Peas like cool nights and bright, cool days; the onset of warm weather will quickly put a stop to your harvest, so it is an advantage to get plants growing at the earliest possible date for your area. Sow seed directly in the garden 1 to 1½ inches deep, 2 to 3 inches apart, in rows 3 feet apart, providing support where necessary. The large pea seeds are easy to space when planting, so thinning is unnecessary. They’ll be 10 days to 2 weeks coming up, although the seeds are somewhat subject to rot if they are planted too many weeks before they germinate. Peas hate to dry out, so they require regular water throughout their growing season.
In areas where heat comes on early, plant bush peas, spacing seeds 2 to 3 inches apart in every direction in a row 18 to 24 inches wide. Planted in this way, the vines will knit together in a dense mass to shade and keep their roots cool; a single-row planting is vulnerable to drooping and failing in the heat.
For an earlier crop or to get a head start to beat the heat, pea seed may be presprouted. Spread them one pea deep in a shallow dish and add water until it comes halfway up the seed; when little sprouts show, plant immediately, before they rot. It is possible to get a fall crop with a second sowing once the peak of summer’s heat has abated.
HARVESTING: Once plants have flowered, pods are quick to form and may be harvested as soon as they size up. There’s no benefit to harvesting too early, as you’ll cheat yourself of a full yield; however, if you wait even a few days too many, the peas will be yellow and hard and have lost their sweet taste. When picking, treat the vines gently, holding the plant with one hand as you pull off pods with the other. Well watered and carefully picked peas produce the best crop.
Beans
Beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris ) or “common” beans, often referred to as snap beans, may be prepared whole in the pod or shelled fresh or dried. Beans may be grown in any climate that has three frost-free months; in hot areas they may be planted in fall, winter, or spring.
PLANTING: Bush beans grow as a low, free-standing bush and are one of the easiest vegetables to grow, as long as you respect their temperature requirements. Early plantings may rot in very wet weather, and the plants will not tolerate even the lightest frost. Sow seed around the date of your estimated last frost, 1 inch deep and 3 to 5 inches apart in rows at least 1 foot apart. Because bush beans yield their crop intensively over a short period, planting an additional row every 7 to 10 days throughout the spring will extend the harvest period. Bush beans are a good crop for short-season climates because they are not particular about soil conditions and are ready to pick in as little as 60 days.
Pole beans are a vine with no natural built-in support for their length; instead, they opportunistically twine around whatever is at hand. Training the vines up with some means of support not only keeps them from strangling nearby plants but also is an efficient use of garden space and eases picking. Any existing trellis or fence already in the garden can be used to support bean vines; the following common devices will encourage vertical growth:
◗ Poles: Place 6- to 8-foot poles, 1 inch in diameter, to stand straight up with seeds planted at their base, or follow the common practice of leaning the poles together
Snow peas: Harvested before the seeds inside have begun to form, the flat pods are completely edible and widely used in Asian stir-fries or eaten fresh in salads. Snow peas are available in both bush and climbing varieties.
Snap peas: When fully mature, the juicy edible pods are filled with full-sized peas, resulting in more wonderful, unbeatable garden pea flavor without the work of shelling. Most snap pea vines require some support.
PLANTING: Impervious to cold spring weather, peas are one of the earliest crops to go into the garden. Peas like cool nights and bright, cool days; the onset of warm weather will quickly put a stop to your harvest, so it is an advantage to get plants growing at the earliest possible date for your area. Sow seed directly in the garden 1 to 1½ inches deep, 2 to 3 inches apart, in rows 3 feet apart, providing support where necessary. The large pea seeds are easy to space when planting, so thinning is unnecessary. They’ll be 10 days to 2 weeks coming up, although the seeds are somewhat subject to rot if they are planted too many weeks before they germinate. Peas hate to dry out, so they require regular water throughout their growing season.
In areas where heat comes on early, plant bush peas, spacing seeds 2 to 3 inches apart in every direction in a row 18 to 24 inches wide. Planted in this way, the vines will knit together in a dense mass to shade and keep their roots cool; a single-row planting is vulnerable to drooping and failing in the heat.
For an earlier crop or to get a head start to beat the heat, pea seed may be presprouted. Spread them one pea deep in a shallow dish and add water until it comes halfway up the seed; when little sprouts show, plant immediately, before they rot. It is possible to get a fall crop with a second sowing once the peak of summer’s heat has abated.
HARVESTING: Once plants have flowered, pods are quick to form and may be harvested as soon as they size up. There’s no benefit to harvesting too early, as you’ll cheat yourself of a full yield; however, if you wait even a few days too many, the peas will be yellow and hard and have lost their sweet taste. When picking, treat the vines gently, holding the plant with one hand as you pull off pods with the other. Well watered and carefully picked peas produce the best crop.
Beans
Beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris ) or “common” beans, often referred to as snap beans, may be prepared whole in the pod or shelled fresh or dried. Beans may be grown in any climate that has three frost-free months; in hot areas they may be planted in fall, winter, or spring.
PLANTING: Bush beans grow as a low, free-standing bush and are one of the easiest vegetables to grow, as long as you respect their temperature requirements. Early plantings may rot in very wet weather, and the plants will not tolerate even the lightest frost. Sow seed around the date of your estimated last frost, 1 inch deep and 3 to 5 inches apart in rows at least 1 foot apart. Because bush beans yield their crop intensively over a short period, planting an additional row every 7 to 10 days throughout the spring will extend the harvest period. Bush beans are a good crop for short-season climates because they are not particular about soil conditions and are ready to pick in as little as 60 days.
Pole beans are a vine with no natural built-in support for their length; instead, they opportunistically twine around whatever is at hand. Training the vines up with some means of support not only keeps them from strangling nearby plants but also is an efficient use of garden space and eases picking. Any existing trellis or fence already in the garden can be used to support bean vines; the following common devices will encourage vertical growth:
◗ Poles: Place 6- to 8-foot poles, 1 inch in diameter, to stand straight up with seeds planted at their base, or follow the common practice of leaning the poles together
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