The lowly pea had a big boost last week in a snappy New York Times article that gave the green plant high praise for its nutritional value and positive impacts for the environment.
While peas can theoretically do well in the Thunder Bay area, local farmers don’t grow them on a large commercial scale.
“Sadly, no one does,” Tarlok Singh Sahota, director of Lakehead University’s agricultural research station, said last week.
“Though we have proved,” he noted, “that peas can be grown successfully in Thunder Bay.”
Singh Sahota, who is a fan of including peas on the dinner table, said he has a theory as to why area farmers aren’t currently taking a shine to the ubiquitous plant.
“Years ago, some farmers had grown peas and complained they were falling flat on the ground (during harvest time), making them difficult for combining,” he said.
“New varieties can stand up well, but, as you know, once bitten twice shy,” Singh Sahota added.
To find fresh peas in season, Thunder Bay pea lovers can head to outlets close to the city such as Belluz Farms.
Shell and snap peas also occasionally show up at farmers markets, but they can be hit and miss.
“Garden peas from small plots show up at the Kakabeka Market sporadically — but in some years, none at all,” said Wendy O’Connor, a local vegetable grower who is affiliated with the village’s farmers market.
According to an industry backgrounder, Canadian farmers annually produce more than eight million acres of “pulse” crops, including peas, chickpeas, lentils and faba beans. Most of the producers are in southern Ontario and Western Canada.
More than five million tonnes of pulse crops are exported from Canada each year, a report says.
In addition to feeding people, pulse crops such as peas — which are high in protein and fibre — draw nitrogen from the air, reducing the amount of fertilizer farmers require.
“I like peas, too, and add them to any vegetable that I cook and eat,” Singh Sahota said.
Not everything in farming is a sure thing, including relatively hardy pea crops.
In the New York Times article last week, it highlighted the lentil research of Washington State University plant geneticist Rebecca McGee.
“I have tested Rebecca’s winter peas at (the Lakehead University research station), though without success,” Singh Sahota said.
