RE: adapting crops to cultural cuisine

**Sharon Gordon g*@one.net**

hat a marvelously comprehensive response!

***Thank you.  This is one of my favorite topics, so
I'm happy to share info.

Question: On pigeon peas/gandules - aren't these hard to grow in our area? I
thought these were problematic outside of the tropics, or at least Florida.

***Yes, there are complications with length of growing season and day
length.
Here though is info on a successful growing project in Virginia that might
provide some leads:

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1999/v4-202.html#pigeonpea

Please let me know.  I have some Puerto Rican gardeners who would like to
grow them fresh ( as would I - Goya gets alot of my money in soup season.)

***Besides whatever they might learn from the Virginia growers, things they
might try:
1)Using the early fruiting varieties
2)Starting seeds in March or earlier and transplanting when it's warmer
3)Manipulating the amount of light they get--I don't know if they would need
to
be completely covered up(yet vented) in the early morning and late evening
to block light
totally or if the effect of day length could be created by blocking some of
the light
with shade cloth.
4)Marking the earliest setting pods and saving seed from those.
5)Pulling up the plant just prior to frost and hanging the plants to finish
drying the seeds on the vine.
6)Eating fresh seeds rather than trying to get them to go all the way to
dry, and just buying new
seed each year.
7)A frugality, but not a gardening solution--getting a bunch of people
together to get large sacks
of the dried peas at wholesale/coop prices.

Sharon
gordonse@one.net

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