Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-05-02
Green Pease for the Garden.

This is one of the vegetables which
market gardeners SOW early In the
spring. We have for several years
urged upon farmers the desirability OF
having a considerable quantity of pease
for family use. They precede green
corn, and certainly of the early Vege-
tables there is none so delightful as the
green pea. Children, who are some
times averse to green vegetable food,
seldom refuse tender green pease, es-
pecislly when they are cooked "thin, -
or in plenty of juice, with just dash
Of sugar. There are varieties in plenty
which are so sweet of themselves that
sugar is superfuous; but children have
a '' sweet TOOTH" and sometimes the
elders can stand a little extra sWeeten-
ing. Many of us remember that in
our childhood days the strong, unct-
uous and sometimes bitter marroWfat
pea was cooked "to death" cooked
until it was a sort Of mash or mush.
Our housewives are learning that
nothing is lost in nutriment, while
much is gained in deliciousness by
cooking pease, as the children say,
"thin." Indeed, one of the most de-
lightful, though perhaps for hard
workers not very substantial or " fill
ing" of soups is one made from green
pease. The finest varieties are the
Wrinkled sorts. Epicures seldom now
adays fancy the plump, solid varieties,
ike the marrowfats, which, we con-
fess, are very productive and sslsble.
l is best to plant early, for the early
paintings produce the greatest results.
The pea is hardy. The soil should be
warm and light, and the authorities
agree that if the ground has been ma
nured the year previous results are
best. Indeed, we cannot too strongly
recommend fall manuring. Neverthe-
less, we have seen a good result from
clover sod, spring plowed, with the
addition of barnyard manure and
superphosphates. The objection to
manuring in the spring is that the
pease run too much to straw. A chem
ist told US last year that his expert
ence was that pease got their best
flavor from soil which contained
no strong manures; yet we tried
phOsphates and had the most de-
Gcious pease we ever tasted. The
ground was, however, finely worked,
while another plot, badly worked and
badly hoed, produced nothing but weak
blossoms. On the successful plot we
planted pease which had been started
IN stratas in old boxes. In boxes of
strong loan, with Just little artificial
fertilizer, we placed two inches of soil
to fair sprinkling of pease, moisten-
ing each layer, and then put the boxes
near the stoves, occasionally spin
king with tepid water. In two or
three days the pease had sprouted a
quarter of an inch. The soil in the
garden was ready, and the boxes taken
outside were given shake against the
ground, the pease were loosened with
their soil, and by sort of gentle
screening between the fingers, so as not
to break the sprouts, the pease were
tenderly planted in the rows and as ten
derly covered and slightly patted with
the fiat of the hoe. They were above
ground in thirty-six hours, and pro-
duced fine crop. Market gardeners
usually soak their seed for five or six
hours before planting in dry weather,
and usually the drills are watered.
Old celery land is good for pease. Har-
ris recommends that it is best to plant
pease as soon as the ground is thawed
out enough to cover them, say three or
four inches. He also recommends ar
tifcial manure at the rate of a table
spoonful to three tablespoonfuls to the
foot in the drill. Two, in our opin-
ion, are abundant. The drills should
be about two and one-half to three
inches deep, and two or three feet
apart. For the tall varieties we find
better success with double rows, so
that the brush can be placed between
them. These double rows should be
six to eight inches apart. And do not
forget that pease need hoeing. The
bushing should be done when they have
grown about six inches high. AS soon
as the pease are picked the straw should
be pulled, as it exhausts the soil. 1t
is a mistake to put off the planting of
late pease. If planted with the early
ones they will ripen later any way; but
they may be planted late for success
eiOn.-N Y. Herald