Vegan Veg: Cheap frills!
By: Lonnie and Richard Morris
The asparagus pea is to be found in most seed catalogues, yet how many of us grow them or know how to get the best from them in the kitchen? Vegans Lonnie and Richard Morris do and encourage us all to give them a try.
Asparagus peas are an unusual and attractive crop with a delicate flavour.
Originating in the Mediterranean, the asparagus pea is grown as an annual plant. Its angular, fluted and frilled pods add interest on the plate and it has a unique flavour slightly resembling both the asparagus and the pea although it is neither. Asparagus peas have never been very popular in the UK and are very rarely seen in the shops. Occasionally a farm shop may have some but I’ve never seen them in a supermarket. This may be because they go limp very soon after picking and should be harvested only when you need them, but then, as we all know, that’s one of the big advantages of growing your own.
Sowing your crop
Growing asparagus peas is easy. The seeds have a hard shell so help them along a bit by soaking them for several hours before sowing. Bury them to their own depth with compost and germination usually takes place within a week. They like a little warmth and are slow to start if the nights are still cold so either start them off under cover and provide a little under heat or wait until April or May. You only need to keep them at about 12C (54F) to have them germinating and they will be ready to go out by May in most parts of the country. Alternatively, you can sow them directly into a well-prepared seed bed that has been liberally watered. If you use this method, you will need to thin them to about 45cm (18in) apart as they grow rapidly.
Growing on
When I first grew asparagus peas, I put them alongside some beans and beanpoles, thinking they would grow upwards, but their habit is prostrate. This makes them a little hard to weed or mulch around but they soon provide a blanket of cover so you don’t need to worry too much about that. Consider the growing habit when you sow as walking between rows can become difficult and make harvesting a challenge.
Harvesting your crop
Before the peas appear, you will see the most eye-catching scarlet flowers. This plant is almost worth growing for these alone. The pods arrive as the flowers subside. It is important to keep your eye on this happening as peas must be taken off when they are no more than an inch long. If you miss them at this stage, they become stringy and then woody and are horrible. As they develop from a crown, water the crown carefully so as not to waste water. No other care is needed.
The plants keep growing to about 90-120cm (3-4ft) long and keep producing more and more peas as you pick them. Continuous picking encourages more pods to develop. In midsummer, it’s hard to keep up with them as they need picking every other day and you are unlikely to want to eat them that regularly. We just kept picking and feeding them to pets when we didn’t want them ourselves. The tortoise loves them!
In about September, when the pods have finished producing, cut the plants down and add them to the compost heap but leave the roots in place as they fix nitrogen into the soil.
Pests and diseases?
Very few, although care should be taken not to sow in cold soil as fungal infections may result. Some say that birds can peck at them. If this troubles your crop then net them or use twigs or other deterrents. My crop has never had any such problems although we have active groups of pigeons and crows who seem to prefer the kale.
Where to buy them…
Asparagus peas are found in most seed catalogues such as Marshalls, Unwins, Thompson and Morgan, the Organic Gardening Catalogue and Nicky’s Nursery (full details of seed suppliers can be found on page 101). If you are a vegan and prefer to buy organic seeds, then Tamar Organics also sell asparagus peas.
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