| Missouri Environment and Garden | Volume 7, No. 1 |
| News for Missouri’s Gardens, Yards and Resources | April 4, 2000 |
Two of the earliest and most bountiful vegetables in the garden are peas and
potatoes. There is no match to the taste of fresh peas and new potatoes! Both
peas and potatoes are cool season vegetables, meaning they thrive in cooler
weather and can tolerate light frosts. The old farming refrain, "Plant as soon
as the soil can be worked" is generally true. High temperature causes peas to
become starchy, and potatoes do not set well in high temperatures.
There are several types of peas that can be grown in Missouri including green (shell) peas, snap peas (edible pod), and snow peas. Suitable varieties of shell peas include ‘Lincoln’, ‘Knight’, ‘Green Arrow’, and ‘Mr. Big’ (2000 All American Selection). Excellent snap pea varieties include ‘Sugar Lode’, ‘Sugar Ann’, ‘Cascadia’, and ‘Super Snappy’. Good snow pea varieties include ‘Oregon Giant’, ‘Snowflake’, and ‘Super Sugar Pod’. Always check the variety description in your seed catalog to make sure that your variety has excellent disease resistance.
Peas can be seeded about 2 inches apart in rows that are 30 to 36 inches apart. Some varieties (e.g., ‘Mr. Big’) grow vines longer than 30 inches and may need trellising. Some seed companies sell a "pea fence" which is actually woven wire for trellising peas. The peas can be seeded on either side of the trellis. Mulching the peas will help keep the soil cooler and will extend the harvest season. Green peas should be harvested when the pods are full but not bulging. Peas are similar to zucchini in the sense that if you don’t pick all of the peas, the plant will start shutting down and producing fewer peas. Snap peas are harvested when the peas and pods are plump. Snow peas are harvested about 5 to 7 days after flowering, and the pod reaches 3 to 3½ inches in length.
Potatoes are relatively easy to grow. Purchase either certified small seed tubers (B Grade) or regular certified seed for planting. The small B Grade potatoes can be planted whole, but cut the large seed potatoes into pieces that contain at least two eyes. The cut seed pieces should be healed to prevent rot after planting. The potatoes can be planted in a shallow trench about 3 inches deep in rows that are 30 to 36 inches apart. When the plants reach 8 to 12 inches in height, they are hilled by raking soil around the plant so that a few inches of the plant remains above ground. This provides enough soil for the potato tubers to form and prevents the potatoes from turning green. The potatoes can be mulched to lower soil temperature and control pests. Maintain adequate watering from flowering until 2 weeks before harvest. "New" potatoes can be harvested in summer before the vines die back by either pulling up a plant or gently digging into the soil and grabbing a few tubers from the plant.
Gardeners have many potato varieties to choose from. Varieties that you may consider include ‘Kennebec’ (white), ‘Rose Gold’ (red), ‘Yukon Gold’ (early, yellow), ‘Saginaw Gold’, and ‘Sangre’ (red). Instead of the standard potato varieties, consider growing potatoes with diverse shapes and colors.
Some mail-order sources for potatoes include:
This is not a complete list. Mention or exclusion of any supplier does not imply endorsement by the University of Missouri.
Lewis Jett, Vegetable Crops Specialist, UMC