Today was gardening day!
Our vegetable garden is approximately 7 feet wide and 12 feet long. Hubby John began turning the soil, then handed off to Ian. Once the soil was prepared, John and Ian planted 3 pepper plants and 6 tomato plants — of multiple varieties. They are having a contest over whether the plants they each planted will grow faster than the other’s.
We also have two types of lettuce (half planted now, the other half will be planted in two weeks), then a third variety that likes Florida winters will be planted in the fall. I planted some flower seeds in the front yard and lady peas in our vegetable garden.
It’s sort of a joke that I insist on planting the lady peas. Each year my husband whines, “Not the dreaded lady peas!”
If you don’t have family from Arkansas, then you’ve probably never heard of them. The peas are a pale green, with a darker green eye and look like petite blackeyed peas. The flavor is incredibly wonderful and I’m surprised they never caught on nationally!
It feels very sentimental to plant lady peas because my grandmother had them in her garden. She knew they were a particular favorite of mine and always made me “a mess of them.” She passed away almost 27 year ago and I still miss her tremendously. Planting lady peas each year makes me feel as if she’s still a vital participant in my life.
So here’s a photo of our newly planted garden — KC
Kat – I haven’t thought about lady peas in AGES! Sad how we forget. But I haven’t forgotten sitting in rocking chairs on Mama’s porch shelling peas until I got blisters on both my thumbs! Sounds odd, but its a good memory.
love you,
Robin
Lady peas! I just typed in the words and up you came. I’ve not been able to find them in forever. Occasionally I come across some gren acre peas or conk peas, as they are also called, and I think they must be the same thing or very similar to lady peas. My memories of them are so sweet. My grandaddy would pick them up at the farmer’s market in Montgomery Alabama and my grandmom knoew they were my favorite and would fix them every time we visited. She’d even send home a little container full for me. How in the world do you find them to plant and do you know if the green acre/conk/cream peas are the same? The flavor of lady peas is unique, I think. Thanks for bringing up the cherished memory.