Grow your own nutritious and delicious pea shoots
Grow your own pea shoots and add the health benefits of these nutrient rich greens to your diet. You’ll be amazed at how easy and quick they are to grow. In less than two weeks, you can have an abundant and beautiful crop of pea shoots. You can use pea shoots in salads, stir fries, smoothies, juices and more. These tasty and crunchy pea shoots are perfect in most dishes. Pea shoots are one of my favourite sprouts and microgreens because they are versatile and delicious. In fact, I happily snack on a handful of raw pea shoots. Yum!
Why eat pea shoots?
That’s a good question. It’s not just because they are versatile and easy to grow. That’s just the start. These little greens are low in calories and filled with vitamin C, vitamin A and fibre. It’s much easier to eat a handful of raw pea shoots than a handful of kale.
The benefit of growing your own pea shoots is that they are cheap to grow. If you’ve ever seen a 100g punnet of pea shoots for $4 at the shops (Ouch!), you’ll be pleased to know that you can grow it yourself at a fraction of the cost. You’ll get the maximum nutrition from your pea shoots as you can cut it as you need it. Usually, I find that I when I cut my pea shoots, they’ll continue growing and I can get more harvests out of one batch. The only downside is that they are often less tender as they continue to grow. You can use your regrown pea shoots in soups or stir fries, while the tender shoots are tastiest in salads.
Here’s ten easy steps to grow your own pea shoots. Grow them on a window sill, on a patio or in direct sunlight. Pea shoots are the perfect indoor plant and will become one of your favourite microgreens.
Step One:
Soak 250 grams of pea shoot seeds for 6 – 12 hours.
Step Two:
Rinse your pea shoot seeds under cold water. Place your seeds in a sprouting jar and leave upside down, tilted on an angle, for approximately 12 hours. This allows the water to drain off your seeds. A handy place to leave your sprouting jar is upside down in your dish drainer.
Step Three:
Repeat step one until your seeds sprout. This may take 1-2 days, depending on the climate. In a colder climate, your seeds will generally take longer to sprout.
Step Four:
Place butchers paper in the bottom of a growing tray that is approximately 30 x 35cm. The paper will stop soil from falling through the bottom of your tray.
Step Five:
Add a two inch layer of organic soil in the bottom of your tray. Mix with a little compost, worm casings and minerals (eg: volcanic rock soil improver or vermiculite). Place your pea shoot seeds evenly over the top of the soil. Ensure that you don’t overcrowd your seeds as this may lead to mould problems.
Step Six:
Water your seeds and cover with another growing tray, that has holes which will allow air circulation.
Step Seven:
Place your growing tray in a dark location, away from direct sunlight. This will allow your seeds to germinate.
Step Eight:
Water your pea shoot seeds 1-2 times a day using a spray mister bottle. Continue watering until your pea shoots germinate and are 1-2 inches high. This usually takes between 2-4 days.
Step Nine:
Place your plant in direct sunlight. Water daily and ensure that the soil doesn’t get too dry. Avoid extreme cold or heat.
Step Ten:
Pea shoots usually take 10-14 days to grow. To harvest, cut your pea shoots approximately one inch above the soil. You can regrow your batch of pea shoots. As they continue to grow, they will be less tender and are usually better for soups, stews or stir fries. Because microgreens are usually grown with 1-2 inches of soil, your pea shoots won’t continue growing to full size plants.
Enjoy growing your own nutritious, delicious and versatile pea shoots. Wholesome Supplies sell organic pea shoot seeds and ship them across Australia (excluding Western Australia, due to quarantine restrictions). Buy your pea shoot seeds today.
