March 17 (Saint Patrick’s Day) is the traditional day for planting peas, but I typically plant them in late May in the San Francisco Bay Area. We usually enjoy peas well into September, when we are experiencing our hot, dry season.
Why are peas so great to grow? Not only are they easy to cultivate and eat, but they can be planted in very poor soil. Peas are in the legume family, which includes nitrogen-fixing plants. These plants “capture" nitrogen out of the air, and “fix” it into the ground. Peas provide their own fertilizer! The plants require rhizobia bacteria in the soil. The nitrogen cycle is one of those beautiful mysteries of the garden.
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| Last year I planted Super Sugar Snap Peas from Renees Garden (reneesgarden.com). |
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| We enjoyed peas for several months. |
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