Pea question

[yotetrapper]

I'll admit it, I'm a horrible Pea gardener. I always get them in to late. It's always too wet to work the garden early, and by the time the garden is tillable its about time to set out tomatoes, not peas, lol.

So last year I tilled under an old annual flower bed over taken by weeds, and covered it with black plastic. I tried planting a fall crop of peas but the weather got them all just after blossom time.

So now I have this garden that wont need tilled in the spring, and hope to plant peas there. My question is.... when?

A lot of pea packages say as soon as the soil can be worked. What exactly does that mean? I can plant them anytime, but am I right in that I should plant them BEFORE our last frost date? How do I know WHEN to plant them?

[beeman]

Originally Posted by yotetrapper

A lot of pea packages say as soon as the soil can be worked. What exactly does that mean? I can plant them anytime, but am I right in that I should plant them BEFORE our last frost date? How do I know WHEN to plant them?

Peas are one of the hardy plants, so can be planted early before last frost, as any growth will withstand light frosts.
Just to give you some pointers. Our last frost is May 24th, but we have our peas in by the end of April.
These early ones do well, but anything planted in late May does not do so well.

[cdbva]

I've been recommended to put them in around March 1st. This dang snow might be melted by then, you never know.

Christine

[prizebull]

Around here people like to have them in around St. Patty's Day

[yotetrapper]

Ok, well I'm getting somewhere now. I know where Akron NY is, prizebull, and here, imo, we're about two weeks ahead of there. So I would think anytime in March would be ok, but sometimes we get snow in March.

So that brings up the next question. Now I know western NY gets snow in March, sometimes in April. What do you do with peas if it's gonna snow? Will they need to be all covered or.....?

[shelleybean]

When you see the forsythia blooming, you know it's time to plant your peas. We have had colder than average winter, like many people, and normally I'd be planting mine this week, but not this year! So I'll wait to see some forsythia.

[TZ-OH6]

As soon as the soil can be worked means as soon as things thaw out, but we had a thread here (I think) last year about presprouting peas indoors to ge a jump on things because cold soil slows down germination.

[kath]

I am in southeastern PA and have never lost peas planting as early in March as I can here, which is only possible when I prepare the area the previous fall. The soil doesn't have to be dry enough to 'work" if you raise up the narrow rows of prepared soil so they can dry out more than the surrounding garden; so assuming there is no snow cover you can just poke the peas in. I have had lower germination when it stayed really wet for an extended period of time, I guess because of seeds rotting, but I have seen them do really well despite snow cover both before they sprout and after they are up-they are really tough! I have found lettuce and spinach to be equally good at sprouting when it's time.

[prizebull]

Not too many people know where Akron NY is Yote. Like Kath said -they're tough,snow won't bother them.

[yotetrapper]

lol prizebull, I'm originally from Niagara County.

[beeman]

I would suggest you plant peas 'English Style' for large crops.
Use a spade and take out to a depth of 2 inches and a spade width. Then broadcast in the trench by the handful. This produces a wide row, crowding out weeds, keeping the ground cool by shading.
Produces far larger crops in a much smaller area.

[janezee]

Originally Posted by shelleybean

When you see the forsythia blooming, you know it's time to plant your peas. We have had colder than average winter, like many people, and normally I'd be planting mine this week, but not this year! So I'll wait to see some forsythia.

Because of our very busy thread on peas this week, I went in search of others. I was tickled to read this about the forsythia, because just this afternoon, my friend in Seattle, just 20 miles away, has forsythia blooming, and I put in my first 4 squares of peas this week. Spring is in the air! Around 50 -55 days, 45-50 nights. Way too warm for Feb., but I have some hoops and plastic and Xmas lights handy if things get ugly.

j

[shelleybean]

I saw some forsythia starting to pop this week as well. We've had a mild winter this time and things are blooming earlier than normal. And last night it finally snowed for the first time here this season and today is very cold. No way I'm going out to plant any peas today!! I did pull my seed packets yesterday though, so very soon it'll be pea time.

[kath]

I'm definitely going to keep an eye on the neighbor's forsythias this year!

[tjg911]

i'm no expert on peas but it seems that they don't germinate well in cold soil and st patrick's day is pretty early. sometimes the ground is still frozen then here. i know what you mean about late planting cuz just when they get to flowering it's the last week of june and the heat kills the plants by mid july.

so here's what i have been doing with fairly good results. i start my peas (edible pod not shelling tho i doubt it matters) inside about 3/25. you can plant them densely and tear them apart like onions without harming them. so i put about 30-35 seeds into a round plastic container that is 6 1/2" across and 3 /12 to 4" deep. when they are 2" tall it's about 4/15 and i plant them outside.

but i think starting them around 3/10 may be better so i can put them out around 4/1 because they like cool weather and will withstand frosts tho below 20 may kill them. that gives them the ability to grow more before the heat sets in.

i plant them around a 4 sided cage i made from crw that's 5' tall, 3' long and 1.5' wide. i also mulch the soil around them and behind them to keep it cool and moist, this especially helps in june and july. i use shredded leaves but straw or hay would be ok.

tom