For most of us who were raised in this area, growing purple hull peas is sort of second nature. We’ve been doing it since we were youngun’s, and it’s sort of like learning to spotlight deer – you never really forget.

Still, some of us do it better than others. Plus, the festival is often asked for advice on growing peas. So we decided to gather a little pea-growing information and pass it along. If you’re looking for seed, go to the purple hull pea seed page.

While we have our own opinions, we recognize that it’s hard to beat the experts. The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service has some excellent publications about growing peas that you can download for free. Here they are:

Home Gardening Series – Southern Peas

Commercial Fresh Market Southern Pea Production

Fresh Market Southern Pea Production in South Arkansas

Here’s a very interesting link from Jack Guidry in Lafayette, Louisiana, who grows no-till purple hull peas – on his lawn!

Deer. They can eat you out of thousands of dollars of purple hull peas in a single night. We’ve got a separate Deer Control page dedicated to combating this evil critter, who despite being the Beelzebub of the pea patch, knows some good eatin’ when he sees it.

Here’s a link to some time-lapse photography of purple hull peas sprouting. Amazing to watch.

Here’s some good, but more general gardening info:

Year-Round Home Garden Planting Guide

Canning Low-Acid Vegetables

Preparation Guide for Freezing Vegetables