Flora in the UK makes a very valid point. Generally speaking, I doubt that the couple of days gained by pre-sprouting is worth stressing over. The main reason I do it is that peas are going into the chilly, wet, ground of early spring, and because (as addressed in an earlier post) they will grow at a lower temperature than necessary for germination, I figure I am getting a head start. One caveat, though, that I think has not specifically been mentioned here is that, once the peas have been soaked & begun to sprout, one must be certain they do not dry out, whether in the sprouting container or once in the ground or that is the end of those seeds! So if you put them into the ground, either expect to monitor moisture in the top couple of inches each day or cover them with, say, some strips of cardboard or newspaper to ensure the row stays moist. Oh--and regarding Alaska peas: these are great pea-shooter peas as they are quite round and unwrinkled. LOL Their smoothness tells you that they are better grown with pea soup in mind as they are not a particularly sweet pea. The sweeter the pea, the more wrinkled is the dry seed. Jus' sayin'. :-) Now I have to go grind up some of my super-hot dried pepper pods and sprinkle the powder along my pea rows. Seems that although I have laid chicken wire over the bed to discourage the squirrels from digging, the chipmunks slip under it and have dug up the ends of the rows to eat the seed. They did this last year to my squash & cuke seed, the little buggers. I would mention here that I am considering getting a couple of cats to live in my shed, but that would bring down upon me the wrath of folks who decry the songbirds killed by cats. So, SSSHHHHHH! Don't tell!

"I soaked my pea seeds before planting." You didnt say how you "soaked" them. If you just put them in a bowl of water, I would say that they are pea soup. If you put them between layers of wet paper toweling then they may be alright.

Never had much luck with peppers, then again, I never soaked them either. Small batch stuff (tomato, broc, cauliflower etc) I've been using those little peat pots, they seems to work well when you only need a limited number of plants (and you can label varieties). And they almost always end up on the Lowe's clearance rack right before they set up the fall seasonal stuff. Greens, peas, beans, corn, it just stick in the ground. Bsntech: I've found that green beans need the soil to warm up a bit more than I think it should have to...... if that makes any sense at all. It seems that in years I don't get to planting early, I have good germination. Years I push it and the beans sit in cool, wet ground, not so great germ. Also, I've had 'second planting' rows almost catch up to the earlier-sown rows. In my garden, I've found that I should be eating plenty of spring greens before I should get to stickin the beans in.

I soaked mine for about 2 hours before planting them this past Thursday. I also sprinkled on some of that peas and beans inocculant. It's only been 3 days so too soon to tell. Mel recommends presoaking all seeds that are large enough to easily handle. I presoaked my parsley seeds and they came up in about half the time the packet said they would. This is my first garden, so I'm just a newbie myself. Here is a link that might be useful: Yet another SFG blog...