Snap peas

Thinking of direct sowing my snap peas this weekend. Any one else start this early in Boston area?

You could give it a try but If I were you, in your area, I would wait for St. Pat's day. That is a traditional day to sow peas in New England, if you can see the soil.

camprn wrote:You could give it a try but If I were you, in your area, I would wait for St. Pat's day. That is a traditional day to sow peas in New England, if you can see the soil.

are you finally having winter? March is our snowiest month here in Colorado and we had a lil dusting last night

nKedrOoStEr wrote:

camprn wrote:You could give it a try but If I were you, in your area, I would wait for St. Pat's day. That is a traditional day to sow peas in New England, if you can see the soil.

are you finally having winter? March is our snowiest month here in Colorado and we had a lil dusting last night

Yes indeed, New England got some snow yesterday. At my house 8.2", at my workplace 13". Elevation sure can make a difference. I am still aiming to get my peas in before April 1 this year. I have to pick up some 6 mil plastic for hoop cover and I will use some directly over the top of the box to hopefully thaw the mix out some.

In southern Maine we got 8.5" of the white stuff so my gardens are covered. No planting for me for a few weeks at least. Here, we plant peas when the soil can be worked.



Here's short-legged Penny trying to decide where, or even IF, she should venture out.

I was thinking about planting peas last weekend (3/3-4) but decided against it. We (were) having a really mild winter, but last night it got down into the 20s. I'm thinking about doing it this coming weekend, only a week earlier than the traditional Paddy's Day date. The soil is definitely workable. Not sure it ever stopped being workable this winter...

Healing Garden wrote:Thinking of direct sowing my snap peas this weekend. Any one else start this early in Boston area?

Hi neighbor. I'm down in Weymouth and am planning on sowing Snap Cascadia and Super Sugar Snap peas around the 3rd week of March.

Putting the cold frame up this weekend so I can start to harden off my seedlings and retain some warmth in there.

Can't wait!

I just read an article in Organic Gardening Magazine about pre-sprouting your peas. It sounds so simple. I'm going to be trying this method this spring. For now, I'm still waiting for the snow to melt, darn it.

I posted the article to my SFG blog for my followers. Its also a way I can look back and reread it when I need a nudge in the right direction. I'm sure some of you have tried this before. Was it more successful than just planting them before sprouting?

Quilt...I forgot to mention that I really like your website. Sometimes I wish I would have done something like yours-you know, just a single row. I don't know about you but it's take me forever to figure the whole website thing out...I've seen you post on SFG GargenWeb a few times. That place has got some of the worst advice you could ever get. Everytime I go there I just know it's going to be a frustrating ordeal. And I'm never disappointed!!!

snibb.....Thanks for the kind words about my blogs.

I've only gone on Gardenweb a few times. I seem to find myself here all the time. Not that I'm complaining. I love it here. This is my favorite gardening forum. I come here every day. I also like this layout much better than most.

I whole-heartedly agree that this is the best forum for SFG on the planet. I think for the most part folks here are pretty friendly and really know what they are doing Mel's done such a great job teaching SFG to the world. At least to those who have given him the chance. He still doesn't know the impact of what he's been able to accomplish. See you around...Jim

Hello Quiltbea.

I like your blog! It's now saved in my favorites. I will have to dig through there and see what you've posted.
I think I may experiment with the snap pea method you posted. I don't have any inoculant powder, do you think that will be an issue? MY MM is good and healthy.

also, my broccoli and cauliflower are now 2 inches from my lights.

quiltbea wrote: I'm sure some of you have tried this before. Was it more successful than just planting them before sprouting?

I have found success with this method. I pre-sprout my peas because the germination rate is notoriously less than ideal. I only plant the sprouted ones. If I remember correctly, last year I had all the plants begin growing and maybe three of them failed before maturity.

I tried NOT using an inoculant on my peas last year and to be honest, my production wasn't as good as prior years. I don't grow the same crop in the same space the following year and had tomatoes there the year before.

I'm going to buy more inoculant this year and share with my fellow gardeners in the local community garden so it won't go to waste. They say the inoculant doesn't tay viable long so so if you have any sitting in your garden shop for the last few years, its useless.

I grew my sugar snap peas in plastic drink cups that has two small holes poked in the rims to allow drainage. & set them on the kitchen window cill where it gets sun ...three days on and the peas are through .

Put them in the unheated glasshouse for four more days to harden and get max light then popped them in a sfg bed a couple of days ago . I rolled the sides of the cup in both hands to loosen any grip the vermiculite had on the side of the cup , then just tipped the contents of each pot gently on the MM , eased out the sprouted peas from the vermiculite and put it to bed where it was planned to go in a matter of seconds .

Peas can handle the cold & and a bit of snow for a few days ... I say this for herre in the UK you can do late in the year sowings that over winter for early crops the next year before the pea moth gets up and going.

It amazed me that the peas had four and five inch roots curledat the base of the cup in the vermiculite in such a short time .

Sowing the seeds in the cold garden is likely to see mice eat the seed , or the seed fail to germinate before it rots.