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Pisum sativum - L.

Garden Pea

Author	L.	Botanical references	200
Family	Leguminosae	Genus	Pisum
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	E. Asia.
Habitat	Plants are not known in a genuinely wild condition[200].
Edibility Rating	4 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 2m.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves; Seed.

Immature seedpods - raw or cooked[1, 2, 13, 16, 46]. The young seedpods have a sweet flavour, but there is only a thin layer of flesh with a fibrous layer beneath it. Immature seeds - raw or cooked. Sweet and delicious, they can be added to salads, or lightly cooked[K]. A nutritional analysis is available[218]. The mature seeds are rich in protein and can be cooked as a vegetable or added to soups etc[183]. They can also be sprouted and added to salads, soups etc[183]. The mature seed can also be dried and ground into a powder, then used to enrich the protein content of flour when making bread etc[K]. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute[183]. Leaves and young shoots - cooked and used as a potherb[177, 183]. The young shoots taste like fresh peas, they are exceptionally tender and can be used in salads[206].

Composition

Figures in grams (g) or miligrams (mg) per 100g of food.

Green seed (Fresh weight)

• 44 Calories per 100g
• Water: 76.5%
• Protein: 6.2g; Fat: 0.4g; Carbohydrate: 16.9g; Fibre: 2.4g; Ash: 0.9g;
• Minerals - Calcium: 32mg; Phosphorus: 102mg; Iron: 1.2mg; Magnesium: 0mg; Sodium: 6mg; Potassium: 350mg; Zinc: 0mg;
• Vitamins - A: 405mg; Thiamine (B1): 0.28mg; Riboflavin (B2): 0.11mg; Niacin: 2.8mg; B6: 0mg; C: 27mg;
• Reference: [218]
• Notes: 

Seed (Fresh weight)

• 0 Calories per 100g
• Water: 10.9%
• Protein: 22.9g; Fat: 1.4g; Carbohydrate: 60.7g; Fibre: 1.4g; Ash: 2.7g;
• Minerals - Calcium: 0mg; Phosphorus: 0mg; Iron: 0mg; Magnesium: 0mg; Sodium: 0mg; Potassium: 0mg; Zinc: 0mg;
• Vitamins - A: 0mg; Thiamine (B1): 0mg; Riboflavin (B2): 0mg; Niacin: 0mg; B6: 0mg; C: 0mg;
• Reference: [218]
• Notes: 

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Contraceptive; Skin.

The seed is contraceptive, fungistatic and spermacidal[218]. The dried and powdered seed has been used as a poultice on the skin where it has an appreciable affect on many types of skin complaint including acne[7]. The oil from the seed, given once a month to women, has shown promise of preventing pregnancy by interfering with the working of progesterone[218]. The oil inhibits endometrial development[240]. In trials, the oil reduced pregnancy rate in women by 60% in a 2 year period and 50% reduction in male sperm count was achieved[240].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a well-drained moisture retentive soil[1, 16, 37]. Prefers a calcareous soil[37]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 to 7.5[200]. Prefers a rich loamy soil[1]. A light soil and a sheltered position is best for early sowings[1]. Peas have long been cultivated as a food crop and a number of distinct forms have emerged which have been classified as follows. A separate record has been made for each form:- P. sativum. The garden pea, including petit pois. Widely cultivated for its sweet-tasting edible immature seeds, as well as the immature seedpods and mature seeds, there are many named varieties[183] and these can provide a crop from May to October. P. sativum arvense. The field pea. Hardier than the garden pea, but not of such good culinary value, it is more often grown as a green manure or for the dried seeds. P. sativum elatius. This is the original form of the species and is still found growing wild in Turkey. P. sativum elatius pumilio. A short, small-flowered form of the above. P. sativum macrocarpon. The edible-pod pea has a swollen, fibre-free and very sweet seedpod which is eaten when immature. The garden pea is widely cultivated and there are many named varieties. There are two basic types of varieties, those with round seeds and those with wrinkled seeds. Round seeded varieties are hardier and can be sown in the autumn to provide an early crop in May or June, wrinkled varieties are sweeter and tastier but are not so hardy and are sown in spring to early summer. Within these two categories, there are dwarf cultivars and climbing cultivars, the taller types tend to yield more heavily and for a longer period but smaller forms are easier to grow, often do not need supports and can give heavier crops from the area of land used (though less from each plant). Cultivars developed for their edible young seeds tend to have pods containing a lot of fibre but some cultivars have now been selected for their larger and fibre-free pods - these cultivars are harder to grow for their seed, especially in damp climates, because the seed has a greater tendency to rot in wet weather. Peas are good growing companions for radishes, carrots, cucumbers, sweet corn, beans and turnips[18, 20, 201]. They are inhibited by alliums, gladiolus, fennel and strawberries growing nearby[18, 20, 201]. There is some evidence that if Chinese mustard (Brassica juncea) is grown as a green manure before sowing peas this will reduce the incidence of soil-borne root rots[206]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[200]. When removing plant remains at the end of the growing season, it is best to only remove the aerial parts of the plant, leaving the roots in the ground to decay and release their nitrogen.

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 24 hours in warm water and then sow in situ in succession from late winter until early summer. A minimum temperature of 10°c is required for germination, which should take place in about 7 - 10 days. The earlier sowings should be of suitably hardy varieties, the 'round seeded', whilst later sowings can be of the tastier varieties, the 'wrinkle seeded'. By making fresh sowings every 3 weeks you will have a continuous supply of fresh young seeds from early summer until early autumn. If you want to grow the peas to maturity then the seed needs to be sown by the middle of spring. You may need to protect the seed from the ravages of mice. Another sowing can be made in middle to late autumn. This has to be timed according to the area where the plants are being grown. The idea is that the plants will make some growth in the autumn and be perhaps 15 - 20cm tall by the time the colder part of winter sets in. As long as the winter is not too severe, the plants should stand well and will grow away rapidly in the spring to produce an earlier crop. Make sure you choose a suitably hardy variety for this sowing.

Cultivars

There are many named varieties of this annual vegetable, with new forms being developed each year. At present there is not time to enter these in the database and it is recommended that you consult the book 'The Fruit and Vegetable Finder' which is updated regularly and can be obtained from libraries.

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[16] Simons. New Vegetable Growers Handbook. Penguin 1977 ISBN 0-14-046-050-0
A good guide to growing vegetables in temperate areas, not entirely organic.

[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.

[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.

[37] Thompson. B. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son. 1878
Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[201] Allardice.P. A - Z of Companion Planting. Cassell Publishers Ltd. 1993 ISBN 0-304-34324-2
A well produced and very readable book.

[206] Larkcom J. Oriental Vegetables John Murray 1991 ISBN 0-7195-4781-4
Well written and very informative.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

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