Kitchen Garden Forum

The past couple of years I have grown pea shoots to eat in salads , do I have to keep buying the packet that says pea shoots or can I use any pea seeds. I.E. are the leaves on all peas edible.
Eileen

Any variety of garden peas are good. But avoid those which produce a lot of tendrils.

I have been growing these for two or three years now. Don't get conned by all the fancy expensive pea packets in garden centres. Buy an ordinary packet of dried soup peas from the supermarket which are a fraction of the the price, produce exactly the same results and allow a huge number of sowings.

I currently have in my food cupboard the remainder of a packet of Batchelors "BIGGA" dried marrowfat peas which will will shortly be sown indoors for an early pea shoot crop. Ignore the soaking tablet which comes in the packet. Just take enough peas to lightly cover the shallow compost tray you are using, barely cover with compost, soak well and leave to germinate, keeping then compost moist. Harvest the shoots at 6"- 8" before they become wiry and too chewy.

Sow regularly so you keep a succession of young tender pea shoots coming. Only the very young leaves are worth eating.

Primrose
Pardon my ignorance but do they work as a cut and come again or do you only get the one cutting (so to speak)

I just cut them once. I,ve never really tried to see if they will re-sprout. At the low price of a packet of dried marrowfat supermarket pea you can sow a fresh batch every week.

Thanks. I'm tempted to try it.

My list of 'temptation try outs' is getting longer though

Hi Pa

I sowed some in the unheated greenhouse over winter. Not sure of the variety as they were all loose ones at the bottom of the seed bag I brought back from lottie, but likely £1 shop or such. I have had about 5 cuttings from them. If you pinch them out leaving the 2 lower leaves intact they will regrow.

I could probably take one more but like Primrose said they get tougher.

Westi

Thanks Westi, that is also useful to know. Puts it nearer the top of the temptations list

I shall try taking a second sprouting in future Westi now that you've said it works.

I,m wondering now, just as an experiment, whether you can grow similar shoots from packeted dry yellow split peas of the type used used in the ham and pea soup recipe!

Primrose wrote:I shall try taking a second sprouting in future Westi now that you've said it works.

I,m wondering now, just as an experiment, whether you can grow similar shoots from packeted dry yellow split peas of the type used used in the ham and pea soup recipe!

Not sure but in the few blissful years I had a polytunnel I used to plant packeted mixed beans and had lovely green beans from them.. ah THOSE were the days1 I dont fancy pea shoots but the pods are good from the dried peas.

Grow pea shoots - easy peasy
You will love them.