Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Peas, If You Please

Despite saving a quart jar full of sugar snap peas for seed, I rooted around in my "Winter Seed" ziploc bag in the freezer and pulled out 3 seed packages that I need to plant to keep the freshest seed available for next years' planting.  Seeds from Baker Creek are open pollinated heirloom seed that allow you to save seeds year after year to plant.


Sugar snap peas like to grow on a trellis, so the first thing I did was uproot the t-posts holding the trellis that our Birdhouse gourds and Luffa gourds grew on until the hurricane.  I moved the trellis about four feet north in order to give the sugar snap peas some "fresh" ground to grow in.  The trellis consists of two 16 foot hog panels stacked atop one another.  I use tie wire to fashion it all together.


At first glance this looks like Wasabi Peas, you know, the ones coated with the spicy stuff that makes your eyes tear up when you eat them?  But they are not for eating.  We'll plant these in the ground and we'll get 100 times the return this winter/spring.  These peas are huge producers.  I highly recommend them.


Planting recommendations call for seeds to be spaced out between 4-6 inches.  I plant them a little closer.  They grow vertically and won't be crowding one another out.


I covered up the seed and raked soil over the trench evenly.  After they sprout, I'll rake wood chips around the plants to discourage weeds and retain soil moisture.


By this weekend the peas ought to be popping out of the ground.  We'll be harvesting the sweet potatoes you see in the upper right portion of the photo above.  Once done. we'll plant carrots and lettuce in that spot.

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