# Are peas really worth it?



## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

Alas, peas. We love them. You can buy them frozen at 1$ a pound or a tad bit more. There are an awful lot of peas in a pound bag when you consider each pod only holds 6-10. It seems harvesting and shelling peas is so much trouble compared to how many you get. Who here actually grows and shells their own? I feel like I am powerless to grow our own peas. I mean sheesh! crack pods for a hour and you MIGHT have enough for one meal.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I did, and still try to grow my own. Bad couple of years have left me with no garden peas. But we like them fresh and raw. I often buy frozen peas just like I buy grocery store potatoes and frozen lima beans. Many times you can get a better return for your dollar by buying grocery store veggies. You have to do what is best for your circumstances.


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## rags57078 (Jun 11, 2011)

the last 3 years my pea crop sucked at best ,, so yep I will be buying froze peas at the store from now on


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

I grow the edible pod snow peas. They are well worth the effort.

As for the peas that you shell, they get eaten, one at a time, while standing in the garden.

Green peas are like corn, I that they are at their peak just seconds after they are picked. So home grown are really tasty. But way too much work for me.

I think the old farm wives used to love peas because it gave them a good excuse to sit down for a little while.


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## derm (Aug 6, 2009)

I do a forty foot row of sugar snaps every year. They are worth it. You are right on the English peas tho. Too much work for me I am done with them. Same with half-runners. I am done with them due to work. Stringless green beans are my future.


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## woodsy (Oct 13, 2008)

Snow Peas work well for us , no shelling, pick and stir fry or steam is good.

Oregon Giants are nice and bulky.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

green beans are really no comparison for flavor. I like green beans fresh cooked and thats about it. Peas are good hot or cold in any kind of soup or salad. Not green beans.


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

I haven't grown peas in probably 20 years. They're too much work when you can buy frozen peas so cheap. Of course, frozen grocery store peas don't have much flavor so I don't eat peas much anymore...

Until recently when I bought some fresh peas at the farmers market. Yowza, how could I have forgotten how delectable home grown peas are? They're so unlike grocery peas it's like they're a whole different vegetable. I couldn't get over how succulent and flavorful they are. 

You better believe I'm putting in peas as soon as I can next spring. Raising kids is a lot of work too, but apparently people think THAT's worthwhile. I sure think raising peas is worthwhile. Rediscovering fresh peas was the highlight of my summer.

I'm looking forward to relaxing in a rocker on the front porch shelling those sweet, luscious little morsels.


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## mabeane (Jun 5, 2010)

Flavor, flavor, flavor! Besides I like to know who handled the peas I eat.


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## jcatblum (Dec 15, 2009)

We would pick ours & take them into the store to get them shelled, if I am remembering the same peas your talking about. It was when I was in grade school. They same guy also had the machine that cracked our pecans. We don't eat alot of peas here, so I don't grow them myself.


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## Forest (Oct 14, 2010)

I think there are mechanical pea shellers for home use... try Lehmann's perhaps?


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

happydog said:


> Raising kids is a lot of work too, but apparently people think THAT's worthwhile.


Now, THAT'S funny!!

I usually grow the type that I can't find easily in the store - purple hull, Romas, speckled butter beans (my fave) and cranberry beans.

Michigan is a big bean-growing state. I can get many types at the elevator (dried) for less than half the grocery store price. Last year I bought 15 lbs. of navy beans for $9 and made baked beans and canned them. Bean Boy (aka Kraut Boy) really likes them.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I raise a few shell peas for fresh only. I like the pod peas better and grow a them, Doesn't take a lot. I freeze 10-12 pints. Seems every year I would take the old pea vines down and throw on the ground for mulch and they grew so now I strip them and plant the seeds back in the planter, those are blooming now. ...James


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## simplegirl (Feb 19, 2006)

I never have any luck with peas. By the time it is dry enough to get them planted in the garden, it is too warm here to get even enough to grow to produce as many as I planted. I quit trying. But it might be my climate.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

suitcase_sally said:


> I can get many types at the elevator (dried) for less than half the grocery store price. Last year I bought 15 lbs. of navy beans for $9 and made baked beans and canned them. Bean Boy (aka Kraut Boy) really likes them.


Sally, could you tell me more about this? How would I go about finding an elevator in my area to do this? I tried looking in the yellow pages, but apparently am not looking for the right thing, lol. I'd be willing to buy 50 pounds or maybe even 100 if I could get them that cheap!

As for shelling peas, my grandma (born in 1886, so a really "old time" farmer/cook) used to save the peas and string beans for evenings when it was too dark to work outside. Then she'd sit, turn on the radio (didn't even own a TV) and we'd talk while shelling peas or stringing and snapping beans. Then they'd go in the refrigerator overnight, to be canned the next day. She would have never dreamed of "wasting" good daylight work hours on such a chore, lol. 

I don't know if not canning them right away caused a deterioration in the flavor or nutrients, but they sure tasted good when to me when she'd open a jar for supper!


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

I do sugar snap , snow and shelling peas. Alot do get eaten right off the vine. You cant beat the flavor and as stated above is an ok chore for an excuse to sit for a few minutes. I freeze mine


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

I have to admit that I buy canned peas rather than canning my own. I like to eat the raw peas in salads, pod and all, but for canning, it's just too much work to pick, clean, and pod them. I have done it, but after a couple of times, I decided it wasn't worth the amount of work put into them. They are great raw, right off the vine, in the summer though.


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## ChickadeeL (Dec 10, 2008)

They are a lot of work and each year I question it too but to us they are worth it.

There is nothing like seeing your kiddos race each other to the pea patch for an afternoon snack, instead of eating chips or some such junk food.

And the sugar snap peas are so worth it. I have quite a few baggies of them in the freezer right now, blanched and frozen and ready for being tossed into stir fry. They taste like summer! They are quicker than the English peas to process. Just pick, string and blanch. 

We also grow snow peas but next year I plan on switching to just English peas and sugar snaps. Yum! We do have quite a few of the shelled peas also blanched and frozen as well. I like to throw them into several salads that I make.

Plus the plants and flowers are so beautiful too....


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

My child running to the pea patch to snack!?! Yeah right! In some other life maybe.


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## steff bugielski (Nov 10, 2003)

One of my favorite garden chores.. shelling peas.
I can sit in the shade with the dog at my side, he eats the pods.
I too freeze them. Best tasting peas come from my garden.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

calliemoonbeam said:


> Sally, could you tell me more about this? How would I go about finding an elevator in my area to do this? I tried looking in the yellow pages, but apparently am not looking for the right thing, lol.


Try looking in the yellow pages under "Grain Elevators".

I don't think Oklahoma is a big bean producing state like Michigan is. The farmers here are harvesting corn, soybeans and dry beans right now. If your state doesn't grow them on a large scale, you probably won't find them at the elevator.

100 lbs??? My Lord!! Do you know how many beans that is? It only takes about 1/4 - 1/3 cup of dry beans to make a serving. One lb. is about 2 1/2 cups, so 1 lb. will be enough for 8-10 servings - 100 lbs. will make 800-1000 servings. They don't last more than about 2 years. They get hard as rocks and no amount of boiling will soften them. Best to can them is you have a large amount. Use about 1 1/3 - 1 1/2 cups/quart. 100 lbs. will be about 160 quarts, or 325 pints....a gallon jar holds about 6 1/2 - 7 lbs. of dry beans.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

why would dry beans not last more than 2 years? It is my understanding, if stored properly they will keep forever, like wheat and rice, hence good prep food.
I've eaten dry beans that were in my cabinet for more than 2 years and they were fine. Am I missing something?


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

edible pod snow peas here too.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> why would dry beans not last more than 2 years? It is my understanding, if stored properly they will keep forever, like wheat and rice, hence good prep food.
> I've eaten dry beans that were in my cabinet for more than 2 years and they were fine. Am I missing something?


Years ago, when I was single, I bought a 25 lb. bag of navy beans from the local elevator. The guy told me that they will continue to dry and harden untill they become hard as rocks. He was right.

Maybe vacuum sealing would help.

Check the bean council...

http://www.usdrybeans.com/recipes/recipe-facts/

Tasty recipes:

http://www.michiganbean.org/recipes/


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Thanks Sally! I know, that's a LOT of beans, lol.  But I'm a prepper, and I planned to use them for long-term storage. Supposedly, if you vacuum seal them without oxygen they're supposed to stay good. I know some people who are using Y2K stored beans, and they haven't had any problems. But if they did get hard, cooking with a pinch of baking soda helps, or cooking in a pressure cooker always seems to work. 

You were right though, I haven't found anywhere in Oklahoma where I could buy them straight from the grain elevator. Apparently, we're big on wheat and corn, but beans not so much, lol. Thanks for your help and the links!


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

calliemoonbean, pm sent.


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## kenworth (Feb 12, 2011)

Black eyes, conch, zippers, most definately. *Insert grumble about DEER eating them this year* English garden peas, nope.


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> My child running to the pea patch to snack!?! Yeah right! In some other life maybe.


It's been 23 years since I last grew peas. I remember loading my older kids on the school bus in the mornings, then I'd take the 3 year old out with me to pick peas. We had a big block of peas planted, maybe 10'x10'. 

We'd sit on overturned 5 gallon buckets and pick. He ate them almost as fast as I picked 'em, lol. That was a mighty fine breakfast for the boy and me.

He called me his freshman year in college. "You lied to me," he said. I racked my brain wondering which lie he'd discovered. Come to find out he'd stocked the freezer with some bags of frozen raw peas for snacking and his dorm mates thought that was weird. "It's NOT socially acceptable to eat raw peas" he said. haha, his cultural diversity education had begun...


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## EDDIE BUCK (Jul 17, 2005)

simplegirl said:


> I never have any luck with peas. By the time it is dry enough to get them planted in the garden, it is too warm here to get even enough to grow to produce as many as I planted. I quit trying. But it might be my climate.


 About the same here.When they start blossoming it gets so hot the peas don't make much.I'm still wasting a few seed every spring hoping for a miracle lol.


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

We grow them -- and love them -- but have pretty much given up on storing a large quantity for winter eating. They've become a primarily in-season food here. We eat a lot in the spring and fall and do freeze some but not a lot. We have them just a handful or times over the rest of the year.


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## foxfiredidit (Apr 15, 2003)

I have some heritage seed in black eyed peas. The pods are very long and the bush itself is HUGE, with leaves bigger than my hand. They are drought and heat resistant it seems. 

I pick them when they are still a bit immature. Not fully filled out in the pod and they are really good enough that I prefer them over pink eyes. I have them frozen now, but plan to can a portion of the harvest this next year. I just hope they turn out as well canned as frozen. They are the best I have ever had.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

oregon woodsmok said:


> I think the old farm wives used to love peas because it gave them a good excuse to sit down for a little while.


The farm wives in my family never needed an excuse to sit down.... they were all pretty well practiced at it. I think they raised peas so little boys would have something to do in the garden away from the house.


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## vicki in NW OH (May 10, 2002)

This was the first year, because of the cold, wet spring, that I did not have shelling peas to freeze. Usually plant a pound of seed for lots for freezing. I grow sugar snap and snowpeas also. I love to shell peas, obviously.


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

There is nothing that compares to fresh garden peas. I grow sugar snap and snow podded peas and English shelling peas. I find that even if I freeze or can my own garden peas, they taste much better than the grocery store ones. Yes, they can be temperamental to grow at times, and a bit of a chore to shell, but so worth the flavor. Mine seem to bear for glory, so I don't usually have to worry about having enough. It's easy enough to sit with a bowl of fresh peas in my lap and shell them watching a movie that evening.


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## Critter Keeper (Nov 1, 2007)

I love our homegrown peas and beans especially after I got the "Little Sheller" last year www.peasheller.com :rock: It's cost a bit, but it saves me so much time.

Cindy


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## Classof66 (Jul 9, 2011)

I love fresh peas from the garden. This thread takes me back to 1970, when we were hard up, trying to farm, and still canning with a boiling water bath. A well known canner was growing peas in our area and we were given a pail of freshly harvested peas. They were shelled, I would suppose by the harvesting machine. They were canning style peas, not the big ones like the frozen ones. The process left a lot of residue on the peas, which looked a bit like manure. EVERY pea had to be washed, not in a colander, but by hand. It was hot weather. We worked so hard canning them, and then couldn't stand to eat them. Never again. I will buy canned peas, but I do prefer the frozen.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

Critter Keeper said:


> I love our homegrown peas and beans especially after I got the "Little Sheller" last year www.peasheller.com :rock: It's cost a bit, but it saves me so much time.
> 
> Cindy


THIS! This is so cool! 400$ is not bad! Great, now I have another thing on my list to 'work the hubby over on' when the time is exactly prime, sigh...

I wonder if it could be converted to hand crank, or better yet, animal treadmill in the case of SHTF. I actually have a dog treadmill.


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