Hi, I'd like to trade for both peas, have Delphinium, larkspur, might still have batchelor's buttons, may be there is more in my list if you see it, lmk, thank you. Bea

It was disappointing to see so few plants emerge from 4 oz. pre-germinated Sugar Snap seeds, so I'm on the hunt for better planting methods. Reading on GW about Lathyrus (not edible but fragrant and excellent for cut flowers), I came across this advice from a breeder: **Plant the pea seeds in pots, cover w/mouse-proof screen. Let the pea plants (Lathyrus) grow large enough that the seeds no longer attract mice. Very gingerly transplant lathyrus into the ground.** Though peas (and Lathyrus) resent being transplanted, I'm considering the transplanting approach next year, because the Sugar Snaps were so outrageously delicious, and I want a huge forest of them. === Lately, I planted field peas for winter cover. Covered the bed with some sort of black landscape plastic (it allows water to penetrate). Every pea seed that was exposed on the ground (and not under cover) was gone within a week. Peeking under the covers, the now-germinated peas were left alone by marauders. Though the covers are not mouse proof by any means, they did help in protecting the peas against predation. Also noted that temps under the covers were higher than ambient temps. The plastic covers are held down with re-bars, which prevent air from entering under the covers. I don't know if the covers will protect the germinated pea seeds long-term. I planted very late in the season, and we now have snow and frost, so the peas may not grow into plants any time soon, if at all. But hej, the covers taught me an option with planting Sugar Snaps come spring. Will also note that a generous amount of manure spread on the beds in the fall will increase pea yields considerably. Hope this gives ideas for others to build on.....

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! :-)

Yes, plant thick. I have a few varieties that always do well and trying a couple more this year. Sugar Ann and classic Sugar Snap do well for me. I plant, direct seed, my first double row as soon as i can work the soil, then again the next 2-3 weekends, a week apart-ish. (wet rough weather will sometimes keep me out of the garden). If i relied on just one of those plantings i may not see one pea. Seeds are cheap and the harvest can be buckets full. Once the weather warms, in go my pole beans right behind the peas, in, again, a three week planting, but way less thick. As they are getting a footing, the peas start to brown and crisp and pull out with ease. Planting a few varieties, (i go overboard with 15-20), will give lots of peas and beans as they have different growth times. Early on i had given up on peas for a few years thinking i had the wrong climate but now that i 'insurance' plant i get enough to give plenty away. I get all my peas from Johnny's. And a random pack here and there if i can't help myself from the nursery racks...those racks seem to have a 'buy me' magnet. I try not to look...