These versatile “GREENS” will not only enrich your garden soil* but satisfy your palate as well! #2

Have you ever heard of “Pea shoots”, “Pea Greens”, “Pea Sprouts”, “Pea Vines”, or in Chinese “碗豆苗”! Pea shoots are very popular in Chinese cuisine, especially in early spring those tender greens are in high demand, and people are willing to pay high price for them. You can:

Sautee them just by themselves with some garlic and olive oil/butter,

OR add to other stir fry dishes,

OR add into your soups/spicy noodles/pho (just need to make sure to add them in the last minute because they cook really fast),

OR you can just add to your salad mix, and you will for sure be taken by their bursting refreshing flavor and their crunchy tender texture! Oh, their jade green color will certainly please your eyes as well! As you can see these are super versatile greens, and they won’t disappoint you if you plant some in your garden or even in pots this coming spring! Even people like my husband who can’t stand peas, really enjoy those fabulous greens!

They are easy to grow as well. Sow your peas like you are growing them for peas/pods, when they start forming the flower buds, you just pick from a leave below that part, oh so tender! If you really like peas too then you can just use half for your greens, or just plant more. And the wonderful thing is they will keep on sending out new shoots, so you can continue harvesting them through pretty much the whole growing season!

To be honest this is my very first year to grow those awesome greens even though I have always loved them so much, and even buys them from Asian stores over the years. I was going to plant peas as cover crop which nowadays is a desirable practice to keep the soil undisturbed (no-till farming/regenerative farming), so all the good soil microbiome# will be stored in the soil for coming year’s plants, hence sustainable farming. We bought some “Dundale ” cover crop peas from a local store in the beginning of July this year, my husband talked me into planting some just to see what they do. About a month later I got my first harvest, and it is now the last week of Oct, I just picked some more yesterday! Peas are very cold hardy, we can plant them in our area right after “President Day”! I believe any peas will be fine for greens, and for commercial growers though I do think they use “Snow peas”, because those peas will give you the biggest and plumpest buds!!!

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Well I hope that I have convinced you to grow and harvest these delicious greens to add onto your plates, bon Appetit!

*Field Peas (or peas in general), like many legumes, are also a nitrogen-fixing plant, which adds fertility to the soil, and they are also a winter annual, helping to keep gardens going (or occupied) in the colder months. https://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/plants-that-enrich-your-garden-soil/

#The combination of bacteria and fungi is known as the soil microbiome. Soil microbes living under your turf grass help your grass get nutrients, and contribute to the world’s largest collection of biodiversity. 

What is the soil microbiome?

#Soil, like our gut, has its own microbiome, which supports the health of the plants growing in it. And just as we have unknowingly destroyed key microbes in the human gut by consuming highly processed foods and from the widespread overuse of antibiotics, we have also carelessly damaged the soil microbiome through overuse of chemical herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers and fungicides, heavy plowing and tillage, and the failure to add organic matter back to the soil upon which the microbes feed.

https://www.gaiaherbs.com/blogs/seeds-of-knowledge/the-soil-microbiome-what-it-is-why-it-matters-how-healthy-soil-can-help-save-the-world