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Growing snow peas
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Snow peas growing in the winter sun
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Most of the hints and advice on this page has been written for snow peas.
But you'll find it should equally apply to peas. We haven't got a peas
page because (and I know I'll be flamed about it) we don't particularly
like peas. Why grow what you don't want to eat? But we love snow peas.
They always make a stir-fry something really special.
Growing conditions
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Snow peas are a cool climate vegetable growing through winter in
subtropical and temperate climates. It can be grown a little later
in cool climates.
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Snow peas prefer a well limed, free draining soil and a sunny to
part shade aspect.
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They don't need much nitrogen in the soil. That's because they actually
draw nitrogen from the air, locking it into the ground around their
roots. Add a little potash to the soil before sowing to encourage
flowering.
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In a 4 bed rotation system snow peas
are grown in the same bed as your winter brassicas (cauliflower, cabbage
and broccoli).
Garden care
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It's always best to grow your snow peas (or peas) from seed.
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They sprout as quickly sometimes as quick as 6 days after they're
sown. Always impressive.
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Make sure you avoid sowing snow pea seeds too close to nitrogen hungry
brassicas. We once had the problem of snow pea plants taking a while
to flower. Brassicas like regular nitrogen doses with liquid manure.
But the liquid manure flows through into the soil around the snow
peas. Result: lots of leaves on the snow peas as it puts its energy
into growing leaves and not flowers.
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Sow the seed next to a fence or trellis and weave the shoots through
the fence for support.
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The one thing we'd stress about snow peas is that you avoid watering
the leaves. We were a bit undisciplined one year and managed to (often)
get water on the leaves. It wasn't too long before powdery mildew
set in and all the plants were covered, ending our season early. So
keep your water away from the roots or use an organic wettable sulphur
spray early on your powdery mildew.
Harvest time
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One of the best things though about snow peas is how quickly you
start getting a crop. Usually in 8 weeks you'll be eating your own
produce. Its that quick. And it tastes great.
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It's usually easiest to harvest snow peas by cutting them off with
scissors or a knife.
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Harvest them often to encourage further flowering and more pods.
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Make sure you pick your snow peas before they start to mature, otherwise
the peas in the pods will swell up and you'll lose some its unique
taste.
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The shoots of the plant can also be harvested for salads or cooked
in stir-fry meals.
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After harvesting cut the plant's stem at soil level and dig in the
roots to boost the soil's nitrogen.
Last Updated
17 November, 2008
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