Branching Out's Seeds and Sprouts

[Branching Out]

Seed saving always come to mind when I find a vegetable that has overwintered because that kind of raw grit needs to be celebrated, and perhaps rewarded with a second chance at life. I have a couple of Tatsoi that have made it through the winter as well, and they are looking so beautiful. They are in a nice out of the way location, so I am thinking of letting them bolt for seed saving.

And it does not surprise me that your grape hyacinth are on the move. It must be the birds that drop the seeds in tiny nooks and crannies; we literally had them covering the entire garden. A friend added some to his densely planted vegetable garden a few years back because he 'really liked them.' Then last spring his wife said to me, 'He's trying to get rid of those things. Those were the plants you warned him about, right??' Lol. One of our neighbours wanted to intentionally plant yucca (you can see it pushing up through the blacktop on a neighbour's driveway across the street from her), and another LOVES pampas grass (I have received nasty cuts to my hands when accidentally contacting leaves of those). Those are two more plants that are not welcome in my garden-- especially when there are so many well-behaved alternatives.

 

[Branching Out]

A few hours of dry weather today provided just enough time to get a few more peas in the ground. They are germinating after just two days on a plate at room temperature, which surprised me. Figured I had better get them in the ground before the radical gets too long. Once they were sown in the dirt I dragged a large piece of acrylic over, to shield them from the rain that is coming tonight.

 

[heirloomgal]

That plastic cover looks like it could really come in handy. Did you have those specially made? I'll be curious to hear what you think of the taste of the Alaska peas.

 

[Branching Out]

That plastic cover looks like it could really come in handy. Did you have those specially made? I'll be curious to hear what you think of the taste of the Alaska peas.

The acrylic was originally custom cut to fit a long table top display case that my mom and used to display our wares at craft fairs back in the 80's. My dad had built the wooden case for us, and had the acrylic cut to fit it. Now it has been repurposed for keeping the rain off of seedlings. This is the first time that it dawned on me to use it on the ground in the vegetable garden. In the past I just placed it over trays of seedlings, to keep them warm and dry. I have a bunch of small pieces of acrylic as well, that I gleaned from a recycling blue box. They are handy as vapour barriers too, but they are lightweight so the wind sometimes blows them around. This large sheet of acrylic is quite heavy, and wind proof.

Have you grown Alaska Pea before?? I hope that I will like them, because I bought a HUGE pack of seeds.

 

[Branching Out]

My experiment in growing Tezier beans indoors is looking a bit dicey. Some of the first true leaves have dried up and fallen off, to the extent that one plant is just a stalk at this point. A couple of plants look to be pushing out a few fresh green leaves, but none look especially happy or healthy about growing indoors.

 

[heirloomgal]

The acrylic was originally custom cut to fit a long table top display case that my mom and used to display our wares at craft fairs back in the 80's. My dad had built the wooden case for us, and had the acrylic cut to fit it. Now it has been repurposed for keeping the rain off of seedlings. This is the first time that it dawned on me to use it on the ground in the vegetable garden. In the past I just placed it over trays of seedlings, to keep them warm and dry. I have a bunch of small pieces of acrylic as well, that I gleaned from a recycling blue box. They are handy as vapour barriers too, but they are lightweight so the wind sometimes blows them around. This large sheet of acrylic is quite heavy, and wind proof.

Have you grown Alaska Pea before?? I hope that I will like them, because I bought a HUGE pack of seeds.

I love repurposing stuff for the garden too. I grew my cucumbers last year on a metal baby crib bed frame/bottom I found on the side of the road. I propped it up off the ground with bales of hay. Worked like a charm to keep the slugs away!

Yes, I grew Alaska peas many years ago. I distinctly remember that they were very wonderfully early! And because of that I found them too late and missed the chance to see what they tasted like at the right stage, by the time I got to them they were starchy! Oops!

 

[digitS']

"I have been thinking about a pea variety that would be good young and fresh and would be useful later as pea soup? Would 'Alaska' fit that role?"

I'm imagining asking someone at an outfit just a pea shooter shot from Washington State University. See, it's less than 100 miles from here and there are all sorts of things going on down there for the ag industry LINK. They grow a lot of dry peas and lentils in that area (the Palouse).

Like Heirloomgal, I grew Alaska once or twice many years ago. And, our advise for you is probably the same - find those filled-out pods early and enjoy the peas fresh. It was certainly possible for me to grow later maturing shell peas and I did that. Along with snow peas and snap peas, they are in my garden each year. But, having three different, and sometimes a multiple of one or the others of those, I haven't grown Alaska for decades.

Steve

 

[heirloomgal]

There is a good write up on Carrick Seeds about Alaska as a dried pea.

Peas - Carrick Seeds

(Pisum sativum) Peas have a very long history alongside humanity; they may have been domesticated as much as 13,000 years ago. All that time has let us do some interesting things with them. Today, we eat peas at the same three stages as beans, though we call these stages by different names. Snow...

carrickseeds.ca

 

[Crealcritter]

I planted peas in 10 foot lengths of PVC gutter once. That way was the easiest early pea planting and transplanting ever. Just till up a row, hoe a trench, take the gutters out to the garden and tilt them into the trench. Walk backwards as the peas and soil comes out. When all the peas are transplanted, tromp the sides of the trench down with a rake. Easy and I recall the gutters weren't that heavy either, PVC is also pretty smooth so the whole mess slides out easily.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[digitS']

write up on Carrick Seeds about Alaska

"Round, green seeds’ only disadvantage is that if you drop them they will roll a long ways!"