Okay, here's a reason for starting at the bottom of the threads and working my way up, instead of the other way around, LOL. I hadn't seen this earlier post on peas, but it's very interesting. Just to mention, I don't have luck with Burpee either. I'm now getting all my seeds from Johnny's because they out-perform the others so significantly. In any event, I appreciate the info on peas. I planted "Caselode" and am thinking maybe I'll try some different varieties and see what works best in my area. My problem with yield may also be that I let the peas get too big before picking? Or maybe my expectations are just off. I planted two 8' rows of them in the early spring. Seeds were planted about 2" apart and the rows were about 3" apart on either side of a trellis. Out of all that, I really only got one meal for a family of 4. Granted, I pulled the plants after I picked the first batch because they were already yellowing and I didn't see loads of new peas sprouting. Maybe I didn't give them a chance to give me more? How many shell peas does one really need to plant to get lots and lots of peas? My family loves them and would eat them every night, but instead, I'm giving them pole beans and zucchini. LOL

i tried Sugar Sprint this year which is smaller and not as delicious as Super Sugar Snap but is only about 2 or 3 feet tall and stringless. i like to let SSS get really fat before harvest, is it just me or do they seem to get sweeter that way? The pods must be strung at any age but it is so much easier to string a fresh pea. queenofthemountain, did you get to taste any of the Sugar Snaps to compare to Super Sugar Snap? i have heard others say the taste is better? But also what your experience confirms, no resistance to PM. i was suprised to discover that snap peas come in yellow and purple. i know Sylvia grew some Golden Sweet snow peas recently and i just received some Opal Creek and Sugar Magnolia seeds. Anyone else trying any of the colored podded peas?

Hi daimonic, Are the 20 X 8 X 8 boxes youre talking about planting the peas in window box type boxes? 20" long by 8" wide and deep? Thats not going to be a lot of soil for planting something like peas in, but if you use a good quality mix, you may be able to do it. If you have Hyponex, I real seriously recommend you go out and buy something else. I had always heard that Hyponex was no good, but until I read your link, I never knew it has sedge peat in it. Thats pretty much equivalent to planting something in sludge. Since you dont have much space and wont be able to plant very much, you want to do everything you can to be sure what you can put in does well, and having good soil is the most important thing you can do to be successful. You should be able to buy good potting soils in large bags at any "real" garden center," and its usually not all that expensive. And youll be able to use it over and over, so its not like wasted money. I use Sunshine Mix for everything, which I buy by the bale at a garden center. A bale can last 2 to 3 years, and I think it cost something between $20 and $30. But a couple big bags should be plenty for you. Sunshine has all different kinds of mixes that they sell in bales, and Im not sure what they sell in bags, but Im sure whatever it is, its a good, basic mix that will work for pretty much anything. The reason you need a "good" mix is because roots need both water and oxygen. With a mix that has sedge peat in it, it will stay saturated, excluding the oxygen, and the roots will rot. A good mix, with a lot of Canadian sphagnum peat will hold the moisture, but allow excess water to drain off. Analogize it to a sponge! If you saturate it and lay it on the edge of something, the extra water will run out of it, but it will stay wet. Thats what you want your potting mix to do. I think you mentioned up above that you have the trays that go under your boxes. DONT use them. If theres water standing in them, the soil will also stay saturated. With such a small volume of soil, youll probably need to water them every, or at least every other day, but thats a completely different animal than keeping the "saucer" full of water. And the heat could definitely be a problem. Thats why I was suggesting putting them where theyd get the morning sun if you can. Afternoon sun is going to heat them up a lot more, and since the boxes are above ground and exposed to ambient temperatures, theyre already going to be warmer than something planted in the ground. Anything you can do to insulate the soil from the heat, or reflect the sun away from it will help some. Regarding the phosphorus, the easiest way to quickly add phosphorus is to use a "blossom booster" fertilizer. If youre not familiar with fertilizers, they all have an "analysis" on the package. Thats 3 numbers somewhere on the package that tell you how much of what nutrients are in that particular fertilizer. The middle number is the amount of phosphorus. Phosphorus is the stuff that promotes blooms, and, subsequently, fruit and seeds. Nitrogen is the stuff that promotes lots of green foliageandI can never remember exactly what good potash isbut it is!!! (Im sure some of the chemists around here will have something to add about potash!) Since potting mixes dont contain ANY fertilizer (unless you buy one that has some added), youll probably need to use something, and, as far as Im concerned, using a water soluble fertilizer is the easiest way to do it. So buy a small package of any "high middle number" fertilizer that you can dissolve inusually a gallon ofwater, and water the peas with it. I use 20-20-20 for everything! I like things simple! ;-) And for most of my life I used Peters brand, but then Peters was bought out by MiracleGro and (wonder of wonders) the quality deteriorated, so "Peter," who had sold his companyand his nameto MiracleGro, started to make his original product againthis time calling it Jacks! So now I buy Jacks! When it was Peters, he used to have different formulations, including a blossom booster, but Im not sure if Jacks does or notif you can find it, I recommend it. If you cant, get almost any brandexcept MiracleGro! MiracleGro falls pretty much into the same category as Hyponex in my opinion. I dont know that using this type of phosphorus would be anymore "effective" than bone meal, but its simple to use, and faster acting than bone meal. (As Steve says, you want it sooner than in the next decade!) Heres a blurb about fertilizer formulations I copied: What do the numbers really mean? The first thing to understand when selecting fertilizers is the chemical composition code labeled on the container. These numbers are almost always listed as a sequence of 3 numbers, such as 30-10-10, or 10-50-10. NITROGEN (N) - The first number in the sequence specifies the nitrogen content of the fertilizer. and is given as a percentage. Nitrogen promotes vegetative growth in plants. PHOSPHORUS (P) - The second number in the sequence specifys the phosphorus content of the fertilizer. Phosphorus promotes flowering. Fertilizers labeled with disproportionately high amounts of phosphorus are sometimes labeled as "bloom booster". SOLUBLE POTASH (K) - The third number in the chemical sequence referrs to % soluble potash, K2O, contained in the fertilizer. A fertilizer labeled as 30-10-10 would contain 30% nitrogen, 10% phosphate, and 10% soluble potash, and would generally be used during a plants active growth cycle. While a fertilizer labeled as 10-50-10, would contain 10% nitrogen, 50% phosphate, and 10% soluble potash, and would typically be used prior to and during a plants blooming season. How are your peas doing? Be sure you leave them outside, unprotected for a couple nights before you actually plant them into the boxes. Have fun, Skybird P.S. Stop apologizing for asking questions! Thats what RMG is here for! :-)

Renee- I don't do many vegetables in containers, but what you describe with your beets sounds like damping off- ?fungal thing that can happen when conditions are a little moist. If you look it up and that sounds like what happened, I think they recommend having a fan to keep the air moving around your seedlings can help prevent it. Here is a link to some recommended fall growing dates for Texas. Your local extension office might be able to give information more tailored to your specific area re: growing dates and the best way to amend your soil. You're right though- the time and effort you put into amending your future vegetable beds now will pay off a lot down the road. Texas fall vegetable growing dates Sorry I can't be more help- your area is really different than mine and don't want to lead you down the wrong path. Lisa PS I can't tell from your original post if you direct seeded your beets or if you were planning on transplanting, but as a general rule root crops need to be directed seeded. They don't tolerate being moved. I pretty much direct seed all my fall vegetables. Some spring things I transplant if I want to get a jump on getting them going in before it heats up too much. I would assume it would be similar in your area, but that's an assumption on my part. Lisa