My Peas - I finally remembered to plant them! Pics of growth

[Nifty]

Every single year I bemoan the fact that I forget to plant one of my favorite things to eat right off the vine... peas! Well, I keep an eye on the "what are you planting" thread and saw someone else mention them so off I went!!

A few weeks ago I put some pea seeds in a jar and a bunch of others directly into the ground:

Last week I transplanted the growing seeds out of the jar and into the ground. Since I now had an empty jar I decided to try an experiment and I turned the jar upside down and put it around a couple seedlings. Well, those that are covered are definitely growing much better:

I'm not sure if it is a moisture and/or heat retention thing, but I'm definitely surprised at the difference it made!

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

cool!

 

[journey11]

I've never pre-sprouted mine before. Is that more reliable/easier? If so, I will have to try it!

 

[Nifty]

It didn't seem like my "pre-sprouting" ones did any better than the ones I just put in the ground. The only reason I did it this way was because the seeds are like 5 years old and I wasn't sure if they were still any good.

 

[OaklandCityFarmer]

Nice! So glad that you got them in the ground this year.

Good luck with them! We have close to 600 starts inside and not one plant in the ground for this season yet!

 

[mandieg4]

They look great!

I planted mine about 3 weeks ago then we got several inches of rain and drowned them all. I have yet to get peas to grow here in the south, but each year I try.

 

[simple life]

I use jars like that for the same reason, I believe its the heat retention and the fact that the humidity keeps the seedlings moist. It's the same idea as using plant cloches.
Its how I start my bush beans as well.
Alot of times I cover small seedlings with the jars to give them a jumpstart and to keep people from trampling on them.
After a week or so they grow so quickly you can take the jars off.
I saved a bunch of struggling peonies last year using that method.

 

[vfem]

That is fabulous to know, I am going to try my peas with a jar over a few and see how it goes. I'm going to plant my peas today in fact.

I'm glad to see 5 year old peas are doing so well. I have some that are 2 years old so I feel good they'll do just fine.

 

[lesa]

That is a really dramatic difference in growth- under the jar. Very interesting...I keep imagining putting a "green house" over new seedlings, to accomplish the same thing on a bigger scale. Maybe build something with those extra windows?? I suppose it is like using a coldframe- when it starts to get warmer, you'll have to take them off. But, it looks your plants will outgrow them, before that!! Enjoy!

 

[boggybranch]

They look great!

I planted mine about 3 weeks ago then we got several inches of rain and drowned them all. I have yet to get peas to grow here in the south, but each year I try.

I tried them for the second year in a row, this year. Last year, planted too late and the heat killed them. This year, I planted them on January 20th. That very night we got over 5 inches of rain. I thought they had drowned, but after what seemed an eternity, they broke through and I now have, what appears to be, a 100% germination. They are growing kinda slow but are beginning to climb the fence trellis. I live about 10 miles from the Florida and Georgia lines, right in the s.e. corner of Alabama.