I can't really comment on your question because I direct sow peas. But I am just wondering how many you have planted if each pea has its own cup. I sowed peas today and they are in a 15 foot row in a band about six inches wide and the peas about 2 -3 inches apart. You need a LOT of pea plants for a reasonable crop. Growing individual peas in cups seems very labour intensive considering how many plants you will need to get a worth while quantitiy. But good luck with them - fresh peas are delicious.

Some images -- thanks for any help!

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I sow my SSPs in a 200-cell tray with 1.5" deep cells. Even after a month, growing in full sunlight, they are not close to rootbound!

Mike

Like alot of seeds, peas send down a very vigorous tab root. Anything you grow in cells or cups is definitely going to bottom out very soon, as have your peas. Just because it hits the bottom and deflects to one side doesn't mean it's rootbound. Your picture certainly is not. At what point plants become rootbound is a judgment call. You would likely see roots virtually everywhere in your plastic cups. Even so, all things being equal it's better to direct sew them so that the roots don't bent around and instead follow their natural habit. Of course, all things aren't equal so the benefits of sewing in cells can offset the detriments of root disturbance.

I don't know if it's true, but an old farmer-girl friend of mine said the larger the seed, the longer/faster the taproot. I do know that acorns can sink a taproot 3 feet keep before the first leaf comes out of the ground.

For the slugs/snails, get a container of Sluggo, or other snail killer that is IRON PHOSPHATE-BASED. It is OMRI-approved (Organic Materials Review Institute) for organic gardens and is pet-safe and wildlife-safe. Yes, it's more expensive than the toxic Metaldehyde-based poisons, but you don't need to apply it heaviy. It lasts for about 2 weeks against slugs/snails and then just breaks down into iron, a natural element in the soil.

Peas need to produce in cool weather, so if they don't turn out too well in your warm SoCal climate, try sowing them in the fall so they mature in cooler weather. And just sow them in the soil and scatter Sluggo (Escar-Go, Worry-Free, Slug Magic, etc) for easier growing.

Sue

Thanks for the feedback. Definitely learning this first time through -- but it's lots of fun, I'm hooked!

As for the non-toxic sluggo -- does it wash away with watering? Do I just put it on the ground or on the plants themselves? Do the snails just die in the dirt or...? In my small 10 ft x 30 ft yard, I can pull out about two to three pounds of snails every other week. Too bad there's no secondary market for organic escargo!

I've been using copious amounts of copper tape... I have tape stuck to styrene strips paper-clipped around all of my containers and I started making these rings (below) for some of the plants that seem to be most attacked by slugs. In my next iteration, I'll make the cup wall higher and work it into the ground better, with the copper tape up higher.

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One of the most efficient eradication programs for slugs and snails - especially after all of our wet winter weather here in "sunny" California, is to place a board down on the ground. Each morning thereafter turn the board and eliminate the critters.

I made a conscientious effort to rid them from my garden a few years ago, and it works well. Also pick them early in the morning, while the top foliage is still wet - where they will be feeding.

Works well - without chemicals, and no need for reapplications, etc.

Bejay

Sluggo (and similar) doesn't wash away, it stays around for a week or two. You just scatter the small pellets on the surface of the soil (I aim for one pellet per square inch or so, and that's enough). It has a cereal-type slug attractant in it, so the slugs head for it. They eat it, stop feeding, and then die. You don't see a bunch of dead slugs lying around, so it's not immediate. They must just go back to their daytime hiding place and die, and then get decomposed by soil micro-organisms.

When I came to this Slug Capital of the World (western WA), the place was overrun with them. I picked them up (wearing rubber gloves) and filled milk cartons with them, stapled them closed and dumped them in the garbage. When I discovered Sluggo, I started using that, and was very happy with the results. I had never been able to grow lettuce before!

Sue