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Seed catalog descriptions of sweet peas almost always praise the scent of their offerings with words like enchanting, intense and alluring. I’m ordering a few packets of sweet peas, including some that are dwarfs for container planting and some bred to start blooming earlier than usual. I’ve chosen some with long flower stems too, so that I can cut bouquets for the house.
Peas
Although Washington’s birthday, February 22, is the traditional day to
plant peas (sweet or edible), I usually wait until mid-March. Our temperatures
would allow earlier planting, but our soils are usually too heavy, cold and
wet. If you have a light, sandy soil, where an earlier planting is much less
likely to rot, go for it! The rest of us will need to prepare the soil and then
be patient.
Peas and sweet peas need a relatively rich soil, so add some compost or well-rotted steer manure. Treat the seed with pea inoculant before sowing to be sure the plant will form root nodules enabling it to fix nitrogen. You should not plant peas where peas grew last year, but, if you grew peas successfully in the spot two or more years back, the soil should already contain the bacteria, so inoculation is unnecessary.
For your edible peas, try to choose varieties that are enation mosaic virus resistant. This disease, spread by aphids, is very common in the Northwest and may shorten your harvest season with susceptible varieties. There are many good ones, but one I tried last year and liked a lot is Eclipse, a productive bush variety that holds its sweetness especially well.
I also like to grow at least a short row of snow peas and snap peas. I don’t know why these are so expensive at the market, but they are not hard to grow. If my vines get over-productive, I have lots of friends who are happy to take my excess, something I can’t say about a bumper crop of zucchini!
Planning the garden
Pull out your garden plan for the last growing season (also 2001 and 2002, if
you have them). Figure out how you want the garden arranged this year, rotating
the crops by plant family. Be especially careful to put cabbage family crops
(broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, radishes, etc) in an area where none
have grown for at least the two previous years.
Next, find your shoebox of old, leftover seed. Most seed packed for 2003 will be fine except onions, parsnips, delphinium and a few others that need to be fresh. Others should be germination tested. Take ten seeds, put them between moist paper towels and insert them into a plastic bag. Place the bag in a warm spot.
Check in 4-5 days and then every other day until you see no more seeds germinating. (Carrots and parsley may take up to two weeks.) Throw out any seed with six or fewer sprouting. They may grow, but will probably be weak. Where seven germinate, remember to plant them a little denser. If eight to ten germinate, the seed is fine, just plant as usual.
Now comes the fun part. Browse the seed catalogs to choose seed that you don’t have or that failed your germination test. Excellent seeds can be purchased off seed racks, but the best selection is available through catalogs.
Be sure to include an extra row or two of veggies in your garden to donate
to your local food bank. If you are headed to the Northwest Flower and Garden
Show this weekend, look for the “Plant a Row for the Hungry” display
garden sponsored by the Garden Writers Association.
Hortsense: Managing plant problems with Integrated Pest Management
