Monday, May 3, 2010

peas and sweet peas



  1. Prepare fertile soil for garden peas. Compost, processed or well-rotted manure are excellent organic amendments to incorporate with your planting soil.
  2. Make your rows in a north/south direction for best sun exposure and air circulation.
  3. Soak the seeds for an hour or more prior the sowing.
  4. Treat the seeds with a nitrogen inoculant before seeding (to fix the nitrogen in the soil) and hasten germination.
  5. Dig a furrow 4 inches deep, covering the seeds with only 1 inch of soil, then fill in as seedlings develop.
  6. Space seeds about 1 to 2 inches apart in the row.
  7. Thin seedlings to 2 inches apart when they are 4 inches high.
  8. Space rows about 24 to 30 inches apart. Bush varieties can be grown in wide rows, spacing the seeds only 2 inches apart in all directions. Pole types can be planted on both sides of the trellis support to double yield.
  9. Seeds usually germinate in 10 to 20 days, depending upon soil moisture and weather conditions.
  10. Sow seeds at 2 to 3 week intervals, until mid-spring for continual harvest. Sow in mid-July for fall harvest.
  11. Be certain to put up trellis support for climbing (pole) varieties, as soon as seedlings are 2 to 4 inches high.
  12. When vines begin to die back, either compost or spade them into the soil.

Get an early start on your gardening season by planting peas and sweet peas!

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