100 day peas

     Here on the cool and foggy north coast of California one of my favorite vegetables to grow is fresh shell peas.  The peas usually take twice as long to come to full size as the packages suggest, but this year they took only about 1 1/2 times as long due to our warmer than normal spring and early summer.
My favorite variety is Knight and I planted the first planting of the year on April 12th of this year.
     I soak the peas overnight to start, coat them with inoculant to help them fix nitrogen onto their roots, then put them into the soil about an inch deep.  I cover them with remay or other cloth to discourage birds from attacking the seedlings, stake them with branches or bamboo stakes, and wait.
     The first shell peas took 100 days this year, and here are pictures of the first picking.

Knight shell peas

I then spent time shelling the peas.  My dog happens to love peas so between the two of us what makes it into the bowl is reduced 10%.  Here is a picture of the shelled peas (part of tonight's dinner.)

 Bon appetit!