We grow peas in our garden every year. We mainly grow sugar and shelling varieties, such as Ambrosia, Alpha, Gloriosa, Detskaya Radost, Chudo Kelvedona, and Russkaya Razmer.
Young peas contain many beneficial vitamins and minerals, as well as acids and dietary fiber, which have a beneficial effect on muscles and bones, the cardiovascular system, and strengthen the body. And they're delicious, too; it's so satisfying to pick young peas straight from the bush and enjoy them.
Every now and then, the peas don't sprout, and I have to replant them. While some of the peas sprout on time, the ones that don't sprout aren't even worth a grain; they simply disappear.
For a long time, I thought I was getting stale seeds or that they were simply rotten, until one day I discovered a whole pile of peas in my raspberry patch. Who had stocked up on peas, and where did they get them? I told my neighbor about my find, and she suggested that mice, crows, or other birds might be stealing the peas from the garden.
At our old dacha, located 40 km from the city in the taiga, there were also pea thieves. We'd find unopened, whole pea pods with the seeds eaten out in the garden bed; more often than not, these pea-less pods would hang from the vines. And we'd be perplexed as to who was stealing our peas in such a bizarre manner.
Until we came face to face with the thief. Arriving at the dacha one day, I immediately went to the pea patch and heard a squeak. A chipmunk ran ahead of me, yelping indignantly. I must have interrupted his breakfast of peas. He was a frequent visitor, and perhaps fortified himself with more than just peas.
Our grandson loves young peas and we always plant a couple of beds, one earlier, the other a little later, so that he can enjoy them all summer long.
This year I came across some purple pea seeds. The variety is called "Everything is Purple." I decided to plant this unusual pea and see what it tasted like.
I planted purple peas and another variety near the fence. A cherry tree used to grow there, but we uprooted it in the spring. All the seeds sprouted there. But in another spot, some of the peas didn't sprout again.
What is purple pea like, how is it different from regular peas?
The purple peas are tall; we had to drive in long stakes to hold the wire in place, as they grew a meter taller than usual and the wind could easily break the stalks. Their stems and leaves are similar to those of the green peas, and they also twine, clinging to supports with their thin, tenacious tendrils.
But the flowers are not white, but pink-carmine, fragrant, and the pods are not green, but dark purple.
The pods are long, up to 10 cm, there are a lot of them on the plant, they are beautiful, and they contain large peas, 9-12 pieces, but not purple at all, but ordinary green.
Young peas are juicy but not at all sweet; when ripe, they are firm, dense, and slightly bitter. Their flavor is reminiscent of green beans.
No one liked the taste of the purple peas - neither the family nor the neighbors at the dacha, only the pea expert - the grandson, said that purple peas were the same as ordinary peas, only without sugar, and he happily ate all the picked pods.
I think that you can make soup from these peas, add them to stewed vegetables, and even freeze part of the harvest.
Although purple peas look unusual and beautiful in the garden, I won't be planting them again. To decorate the area, I use sweet pea with multi-colored butterfly flowers.
Only this year it is growing rather poorly and almost all the flowers are pink.