The Best Field Peas with Ham Recipe - Green Oklahoma (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between field peas and green peas? ›

Field peas have more of the bean taste, whereas the English varieties are the traditional sweet green ones. We have started to enjoy growing the Summertime Pinkeye field pea, though, because the crop grows at the top, it is effortless to harvest also, this variety is easy to shell.

Unlike other crops, field peas do not need a lot of fertilizer at all. We recommend giving peas some garden inoculate at pre-planting and then a complete fertilizer at planting.

The black-eyed pea is the most commonly available variety of all field peas—and what many are likely most familiar with. It's also arguably the most humble variety of field peas: Though many favor it as a Southern staple or traditional holiday food, it doesn't have the most robust flavor of the bunch.

Avoid excessive tillage in the spring to avoid drying out the seedbed. Field peas should be seeded in early spring, April to mid-May, so that flowering will occur during potentially cooler weather.

Shelling peas are the most popular type of peas, which might have to do with their versatility in cooking. Snow peas and sugar peas can also be used in all kinds of dishes, from stir fries to salads, but shelling peas are no doubt more mainstream.

Field peas are technically beans, and not at all like the green garden pea most of us know. Early in the season, whole young pods can be treated like green beans in the kitchen. Pulled from the pod and cooked, the peas have a flavor that can vary from meaty or spicy to delicately vegetal.

Soil testing and fertilizer

Peas grow best in soil with a pH between 6 and 7.5. Use well-rotted manure or compost at planting. Continuous use of high phosphorus fertilizer, such as 10-10-10 or 15-30-15, or high rates of manure or manure compost results in phosphorus buildup in the soil.

Western Canadian research indicates a significant yield response to inoculation of grain legumes in 30% to 50% of the cases. For this reason, most experienced pea producers use an inoculant on their pea crop every year.

Answer: Yes, soaking the amount of pea seed you wish to plant in your garden in a cup of lukewarm water overnight will help the seed to absorb water and shorten the amount of time they need to germinate.

The term field pea reveals its original role in the South, where for generations field peas were grown in the rice and corn fields to add valuable nitrogen back into the soil. Field peas were so common and plentiful that there was no need to tend them in a kitchen garden.

What is the difference between field pea and garden pea? ›

Field pea is commonly grown as a cover crop, or, in more arid regions, for its smooth dried seeds used as food or feed crops. Garden pea is more commonly grown in New England for fresh market use. Garden peas contain higher sugar and lower starch contents than field peas and have wrinkled mature seeds.

Closely related to the garden pea, field peas are annual plants. They may have a vining habit to an erect habit. All stages are edible, from the blossoms to the immature pods, called snaps, to the mature pods full of peas and the overly mature pods full of dried peas.

Southern peas are also called cowpeas, field peas, crowder peas, and black-eyed peas. By whatever name you call them, they're an old favorite in the South and can be grown where both days and nights are warm for a period of 60-90 days.