A CHINESE VEGETABLE POTPOURRI - Growing Chinese Vegetables in Your Own Backyard - page 110

The asparagus pea is a legume, as you might expect from its name. It's also called
goa bean, winged bean (from its shape), and four-angled bean. (Do not confuse it with
the asparagus bean, which is another name for the Chinese yard-long bean.) It origin-
ated in India and soon spread throughout Asia as far as New Guinea. Today it is an im-
portant crop from China to Africa to the West Indies, in part because of its high protein
content.
Appearance
The asparagus pea is a rampant vine and can take over any area in which you plant
them, so grow them in an out-of-the-way corner. The pale blue flowers, which whiten
with age, are very showy and attractive, so you can grow it as an ornamental edible. It
competes successfully with most weeds.
The pods are very oddly shaped; they grow sort of square instead of rounded and
have four sides. If left to mature, they eventually reach about 8 inches long. Each side
has a prominent winged edge that makes it an attractive and unusual vegetable to serve,
especially if you slice it crosswise. They look unusual, even before you savor the as-
paragus flavor.
How to Grow
With a growth habit similar to that of pole beans, asparagus pea vines grow to 10 feet
long and require staking. Getting started. The asparagus pea is not frost-tender and can
be sown in the garden a couple of weeks before the last frost date in your area. It does
best in cool weather. Since it has a long harvesting season, the earlier you start it the
better. With vegetables of this sort I usually gamble a bit; if I'm unlucky and have a
hard frost after I've sown my seeds, all I'm out is a little seed and a few minutes' work.
Most of the time I find my gamble pays off.
Planting. Plant seeds ½ inch deep and about 6 inches apart, in rows 18 inches apart.
By the time you finish harvesting, it will be July just in time to put in a fall crop of
something else.
Growing needs. Asparagus pea isn't fussy about soil and does well in any halfway de-
cent garden soil. Fertilize when flowers appear and at three-week intervals after that.
Either side-dress with a balanced fertilizer or water with a fish-and-seaweed fertilizer.
This is a carefree vegetable: sow it and forget it. What more could you want?
How to Harvest
About 50 days after sowing, begin harvesting the pods. If you wish to eat the leaves,
shoots, or flowers, gather these earlier when they're tender.