Pea Growing, 2022

[jbosmith]

I have a huge bag of Cascadia peas, but I actually planted them in the fall to fix nitrogen in the soil. The deer ate all the peas so I didn't get a single one, but they lasted well into December before the last one died. My efforts to fix nitrogen in the soil with peas seem to have failed however, since soil testing revealed low nitrogen in the soil.

I'm rusty on my legume cover cropping but I think I remember that they have to be in the growing, vegetative state (pre-blossom) to be fixing much N. The plants definitely have nodules on them when I pull them though so who knows. I also think you need something actively growing to soak up that N or it'll leak away before spring comes. Maybe pairing field peas with some winter rye or something would help?

 

[Zeedman]

If I'm trying to save something really old that is going to come up unpredictably I use the following. Things have to get pretty overgrown before they'll wrap around those. I also use these and only these for pepper plants because their tops will be way overcrowded before the roots wrap at all.

38 Count Seedling Tray, 10 pack – VAS Agricultural

Those look like nice trays; and if durable, are worth the price. How thick is the plastic? Do you push a dowel or something up through the drain hole, to extract the plants?

 

[jbosmith]

Those look like nice trays; and if durable, are worth the price. How thick is the plastic? Do you push a dowel or something up through the drain hole, to extract the plants?

The 38 cell ones are standard thin walled 'single use' trays and I put them in other trays to carry the weight. The holes in the bottom are big enough that you can stuff a finger in them. I don't think this is the company I got them from but they look the same. I have a pile of 32 cell ones that have the same shape with slightly bigger holes that Jolly Farmer sends their begonia starts in (for a commercial greenhouse).

ETA: I also squish the sides of the cells around a bit before popping the plants out to get the promix to let go of the plastic.

The 72 cell trays from Bootstrap farmer are the expensive ones and I forgot to include a link for those.

Plug Trays - 72 Cell Seed Trays - Bootstrap Farmer

Ready to start planting seedlings? Our 72 cell seedling trays make gardening easy, and fit perfectly when combined with our standard 1020 propagation tray.

www.bootstrapfarmer.com

 

[flowerbug]

green beauty i think is one of the two in the mix i planted last year as a selection from about a dozen varieties @Keen101 sent to me a few years ago. if you have a lot of chipmunks it may be a challenge to get the seeds. fence, hunt and trap perhaps. i don't have enough fence, but if i did i'd use it plus electrify a hot wire along the top so they can't jump over/into. they're much too clever sometimes...

i really like peas, it's hard to not start collecting them too once you get going with beans.

 

[AMKuska]

I'm rusty on my legume cover cropping but I think I remember that they have to be in the growing, vegetative state (pre-blossom) to be fixing much N. The plants definitely have nodules on them when I pull them though so who knows. I also think you need something actively growing to soak up that N or it'll leak away before spring comes. Maybe pairing field peas with some winter rye or something would help?

Hmm, that might be worth a try. I'm new to cover cropping and usually just abandon my garden to the weeds until next year. I'll give that a go this coming fall and see if that makes a difference.

 

[Zeedman]

I'm rusty on my legume cover cropping but I think I remember that they have to be in the growing, vegetative state (pre-blossom) to be fixing much N.

I've read the same - if the main objective of the crop is nitrogen fixation. Turning it under at that stage would allow time for a second crop (such as the winter rye you mentioned) to prevent the N from leaching out. If grown as a green manure, legumes can be allowed to build more biomass before being turned under (but before they mature seed).

Roughly 1/2 of my garden is devoted to various legumes, so all I need to do is rotate positions of everything.

 

[jbosmith]

Roughly 1/2 of my garden is devoted to various legumes, so all I need to do is rotate positions of everything.

Yeah, same. I grow a lot of random things to fill space just because I think it needs a break from beans

 

[jbosmith]

Hmm, that might be worth a try. I'm new to cover cropping and usually just abandon my garden to the weeds until next year. I'll give that a go this coming fall and see if that makes a difference.

That's not always the worst strategy! One of my remote gardens has a crazy seedbed of wild mustard and I often let it grow at least to the blossom stage if I'm done with an area for the year. Just don't use this strategy if you have quack grass or something similar.

 

[flowerbug]

the bigger leaves of the peas can help smother weeds, but a winter rye or winter wheat crop will also work well. i wish i could do these here every year. buckwheat is also another large leaved crop that i like to plant if i can get it going before the weather gets too cold. the frost knocks it out. peas will go a bit longer. winter rye and winter wheat look so nice in comparison as they'll stay green. winter rye is the grain not the grass.

 

[jbosmith]

the bigger leaves of the peas can help smother weeds, but a winter rye or winter wheat crop will also work well. i wish i could do these here every year. buckwheat is also another large leaved crop that i like to plant if i can get it going before the weather gets too cold. the frost knocks it out. peas will go a bit longer. winter rye and winter wheat look so nice in comparison as they'll stay green. winter rye is the grain not the grass.

Funny story - in 2019 I planted a cover crop after my tomatoes using a bag that just said "rye". It was perennial ryegrass. It was a lovely lush green lawn the next spring.

Daikons are my favorite late season smother crop.