Volunteering to Shell Volunteer Peas

There's something special about things that come up volunteer in the garden.  Volunteer means you didn't plant it, but it came up from seed the following year.  Right now we have several volunteer crops growing, including basil, cilantro, tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, peanuts and Ozark Razorback Peas.  Ozark Razorback Peas are an old heirloom crop from Arkansas.

In a corner of the garden at the base of the cucumber trellis and where the cilantro was growing in abundance, some Ozark Razorback peas sprouted and quickly spread over a portion of the garden encouraged by the hot weather and frequent rains.  Yellow blooms quickly filled the plants.

The ripening peas stand at attention atop the stalks, making it easy to pass by and twist them off and put into the harvest basket.  I learned quickly that you can't simply pull them or you risk breaking off a productive portion of the plant.  Twisting the peas enable you to break the ripened peas off the stalk with ease.  I like to pick them when they are brown or at least yellow, simply because when they are dry, they're easier to shell.  But they ripen quickly.  Those fat, green pods you see below will be yellow tomorrow and brown the very next day.

See what I mean about the peas standing at attention?  Almost as if to say, "Pick me."  Even though it is a very small patch of volunteer peas, I make it my business to pass by it each day and pick the ripened peas.

Ozark Razorback peas are red and white with a speckled coat.  They are a pretty pea - that's for sure.

I'll be sure to let a few ripen on the plant and dry out so that I'm able to put some of these seeds away for safekeeping.  It would me a shame to depend on the volunteer crop to come in and then it never does next year.

One thing is for sure, I love shelling peas.  It's one of the most relaxing, pleasurable things you can do.  I like to sit on the back patio in the late afternoon and shell them into a bowl.  The peas popping into the bowl make a happy little noise I've come to appreciate.  Just this weekend, I planted another Southern Cowpea into the side garden: Purple Hull Peas.  I'll also be planting some Blackeyed Peas as well.