2024 Field Notes
Pea -- Pisum sativum -- Sugar Snap
Pea -- Pisum sativum -- Sugar Snap
Outside Sown 3/14
Greenhouse Sown 3/22 & 3/23
Outside Germination PENDING
Greenhouse Germination 3/26 (both trays)
Germination counts (NOSOAK/SOAK)
3/27, 8am: 29/3
3/27, 4pm: 54/13
3/28, 8am: 70/32
3/28, 6pm: 80/58
3/29, 9am: 83/74
3/29, 5pm: 83/74
3/30, 3pm: 88/76
3/31, 6pm: 90/78
4/1, 5pm, after thinning: 49/47
3/17 -- Two 4x4 beds planted using the exact same successful techniques as last year, with the same timing as last year. A cold week this first week these are in the ground - we'll see how that impacts germination and germination timing. Planning a second two beds on the 24th, as an experiment to see if we can extend pea harvesting season an extra sweek into the summer.
3/24 -- March is being very March-like around these parts, so decided to do something experimental this year - I planted two 50 cell trays this week with snap pea seeds, which I've never done before, as a hedge against trouble with the outside peas. We were VERY cold there this week, and got snow/soaking rain yesterday, so I'm concerned about the outside peas I've already sown, and I'm delaying (hopefully by a day or two only) the other outside seed sowing. Sowing protocol was basically the same as sweet peas, except bigger cell size for bigger seeds. Two per cell. I also decided to soak the seeds of one tray only to further experiment. I suspect these will do well in the greenhouse, and I'll be able to compare them nicely to the outside sown seeds this season.
3/30 -- These have indeed done very well for themselves in the friendly confines of the greenhouse - 80% germination between the two trays thus far. Interestingly, the non-soaked seeds are doing slightly better than the soaked ones! They're a day behind, so we will be able to make a final call on that in another day or two. In the meantime, these are growing quickly, and I'm still not seeing anything outside. That's not unusual. We'll see where we are in a week or so.
4/1 -- These are growing very rapidly - interestingly, especially tray 1, the no soak tray, which is definitely doing better than the tray with the soaked seeds, which is a surprise! Got more to germinate and the plants in the no soak tray are larger to this point. I would expect a little of that being a day ahead but they're noticeable bigger. Because they're getting so big, decided to thin them today, and very glad I did. The roots are EXTENSIVE with these already - pulling them was a challenge, and I hope to have not caused any issues for the ones that got left behind in the cells. Pretty obvious to me that these are going to need to get planted out soon!
4/5 -- If it wasn't for hideous weather this week, I probably would already be hardening these off - they're HUGE and getting bigger every day. They need to get planted, and soon. Going to try to harden them off this weekend, even though it isn't going to be particularly nice, and get them in the ground very early next week. Nothing to report on the ones in the ground - would have expected to see some by this point, but as I mentioned, the weather hasn't been great at all.
4/21 -- Lots to say here! The ones in the ground finally germinated right after my last update, and they're now growing nicely. A tiny bit later than last year on that but they did end up germinating and germinating well. I trellised them while they were still less than an inch tall. They're now reaching the trellis. For the transplanted ones - they were indeed translanted shortly after my previous update. Doing so was...interesting. Had to be delicate for sure. I transplanted them AFTER I installed the trellis, abut 64 of them to start with, four inch spacing on either side of the trellis to give them some room. I ended up putting in 6 more later once I realized I had the room to do so. I had to twist-tie many of them to the trellis - it has been a VERY windy spring here so it seemed necessary. It does seem to have helped them grab on, I think they basically all have at this point. The transplants did take, which was my biggest concern - lost zero of them, and they're now at least a foot tall, with some of them to 18 inches or so.Last thing to add is that the disadvantage of transplanting is clearly number of plants. I haven't counted exactly but I'm guessing I'll have 2x as many plants in the sown beds versus the transplants. That's largely due to how many plants I actually had available to transplant from the two 50 cell trays. Nevertheless - I'm pleased here, this will be an interesting experiment to see if I can get peas for a longer period and earlier - hoping for May.
4/28 -- These appear to have survived a frost this week. The transplants still look OK, I would say the sown outside set look smaller but a little better on the whole. But all good here at the moment.