Pea Planting

Between threatening sprinkles, the rain held off long enough to get a little more done in the garden. My very early peas that are growing in the glass house have one bloom. I can taste the fresh peas already, even though it will still be several weeks before that little bloom produces a pod.
In the main garden, I tilled a strip for planting a row. Unlike the traditional planting, this is a condensed row. Many more seeds are planted closer together and I cheat when it comes to stringing them up.

Now I’m not here to say the seed packets or planting guides are wrong. I’m just saying that I don’t follow the all the directions. Tilling is pretty straight forward, break the ground up so that the soil can cover the seeds without squashing them.
Once the soil is ready, I drive a t-post into the ground at each end of the row and tie a string from one to the other. I am not able to make a straight line even with the string, but it does help keep me close to the correct spot. I use a hoe, and with the string as a guide, pull the hoe through the soil to make a trench 1/2 to 1 inch deep the length of the string. Then I drop peas into the trench and just barely cover them with soil. I use a couple of boards to put over the seeds to help hold in natural moisture, because I don’t cover them as much as the professionals suggest.

A panel fence I refer to as hog wire, or sheep fencing is tied to the 2 posts at the ends of the rows. The solid fencing allows for the tightly sown seeds to produce a hedge of peas that are very easy to the vines on the fence.