Peas are fun to eat, come in interesting varieties and cooking styles.  I like them all: snow (flat podded), snap (oh-so-sweet), and English (peas only).  My clients seem to love the old-fashion English peas.  But peas are not always easy to grow, at least in my garden.  Germination is tricky as I typically direct-seed peas in the beds just before spring.  Some sow peas on Valentine day!!   I prefer to wait for warmer days until mid-March.  Some peas are more hardy than others and I recommend selecting those varieties for an early start, such as "Alaska".  Nonetheless, it can be cold and wet for several days, which might lead to seed-rot. When seeds are too cold to germinate they are also exposed to predation, including worms and rodents.  Hence be prepare to reseed if needed.  But time runs short for peas as our continental climate grants us with a short-lived spring.  We jump quickly from cold to hot and peas (and other springs crops) do not like it.  So it is a race.  More modern varieties tend to have shorter maturities and I recommend them: "Alaska" and "Maestro" for instance are rated for 57 days to maturity, a real advantage over "Lincoln" or "Sugar Snap" which need close to 70 days.  My favorite varieties are short maturity/short vine for an easier management.  "Knight", "Dwarf Gray Sugar" or " Oregon Sugar Pod", all stand below 3 feet in height.  Here is my method for seeding peas.

I first part my straw mulch away and create two rows close to the edges of the bed using the tool pictured or anything similar, or your hands. That results in a 2 foot-wide mound of pushed-up mulch in the middle of the bed.  I then open the rows with a sharp tool to create a 3 inch deep trench where I lay my seeds 1 to 2 inches apart.  Just before seeding I inoculate the seeds with pea inoculant designed to help with nitrogen capture of the plant's roots.

I use the flat part of that tool in the picture to push the dirt back on top of the seeds and compact the seeding area for good contact of soil and seed.  I then put a light covering of the mulch back on the seeded area so that it is not exposed to the force of a hard rain.  I do not mulch the row heavily as the soil is better off warming up to the sun. 
 

 
I finalize my bed with a quick set up for the vines to grow on.  I use my tomato cages which are not useful until the end of the pea season (how practical).  I lay them down in the middle of the bed and push them together for stability.  The cages should grab the vines or vice-versa.  The mulch in the middle will minimize weeds below the cages.  This last step does not need to happen before germination.  In May when the weather heats up, it is advisable to mulch the entire bed.  You can see how the vines grab the cages on the right.  This method only works with small-vined varieties.

Now pray for a long peas-full spring!

last modified on: Monday November 10, 2008 06:41 AM -0600