ALL I KNOW ABOUT PEAS

I love peas, they are about my favorite vegetable. I plant lots of peas, most for eating right out of the garden, and some to freeze. Little Marvel Peas and Green Arrow Peas are some of my favorites. I plant them in a wide row. About 12" to 18" wide, this year I am trying a new method. I planted two 12" rows on each side of a ‘net wire’ fence. I’ll keep you posted on how this works.

Peas can be hard to come up through a hard crust. So here is a solution, my Mother told me about ten years ago. At that time I told her I couldn’t get my peas to come up, some years they were fine and some years they wouldn’t come up. So this is what she said. Dig a furrow for the peas, (I dig one anywhere from 4" to 18" wide), then flood the row with water. After the water sinks, plant a generous amount of peas. (We used to say ‘plant them thick’). Then cover the peas with 1" to 2" of dirt that is on one side of the row. (Here comes the biggest hint !!) Do not water or sprinkle peas after you have planted them. No matter what !!!! As my Mother told me "Do not water them, you’ll want to. But don’t water them and they will come up on their own." Even if you check them a week or ten days later and they seem to be lying in dry dirt - they have soaked up enough moisture from the water in the furrow for them to sprout. Give them a few more days and they will begin to come up — honest.

You can also soak them first, but I never have soaked my peas. Peas can rot easily if they have too much moisture. If you soak them first, then water the furrow, then it rains you will have a good chance to have rotting peas. I recommend watering the row first and waiting.

Do not water your peas during the heat of the day, or late evening. If you water peas during a hot day, the will scald and die. They are very sensitive to water when they are hot. If you water them during the evening they will have a greater chance of having fungus or mold problems. I water my peas during the morning, that way they are cool and will have all day for the leaves to dry off.

Did you know that peas have nodules full of nitrogen on their roots? The plant produces nodules on the roots and much of their energy is used to build these nodules. So they have their own built in fertilizer. When the pods are filling, the plant reduces the building and filling of nodules and spends its energy filling pods. Because the peas have built in nitrogen doesn’t mean they do not need fertilizer, they can become low in nitrogen. If the colors of your peas are yellow that may mean, they need a fertilizer supplement.

You can plant them thick and replant a second crop in the same place. But watch for nitrogen diffencency. I have replanted a second crop in the same place around July 24th or August 1st for a few years now, and have had good results.

PLANTS ARE PEOPLE TOO !!

A few weeks ago I stopped to visit with Della at the Willard Bay Gardens in Willard Bay, Utah. I always enjoy talking to her. She is so full of information, and so willing to share her expertise. I asked her questions about trellising, compost, soil for planter pots and several other things.

She told me about a great organic product called coconut fiber. It is ground up coconut shells. It is used to mix with your potting soil to soak up the moisture in your garden or flower pots. She recommended I mix it 50/50 with the potting soil I will use in my pots this year. It makes the soil so light and fluffy. I love the idea of having something in my pots that will soak up and keep the moisture more constant.

She told me about Hen and Chickens and how they grow. I wanted to transplant some of the small chicks that were around the outside of the plant into different areas of my garden. She said that was not such a good idea. She told me the center plant is the Hen and she has several chicks around her. As they get older, the Hen will grow a stem and a blossom and then after a few weeks the Hen dies. This allows more room for other Chicks to grow and fill in the large area where the Hen once lived. So they really aren’t meant to be divided, but grow in one area.

As we visited, we realized that each plant has its own story. We just need to learn what that story is. As we learn more about gardening, we will learn more about the plants we grow and how to learn to be more successful with each plant. We will try new techniques that may or may not work. The trick is to find out what works, what doesn’t and learn all we can about the plant’s story.

It is always a good idea to keep a garden journal to write down ideas, techniques and dates. So try to remember what works and what doesn’t to improve your garden’s story book.

Once again, thanks Della for the visit and the advise !!! Barney and Della Barnett are located at Willard Bay Gardens, 7095 S. Hwy. 89, Willard Bay, Utah. www.willardbaygardens.com