I have one very long bed that I usually plant peas in. I start mid-March and continue for about a month and a half so that we will have fresh peas for awhile. I usually do at least a double row on each side of the wire support that lines one side of this bed. Still, I rarely get many of these since my pea-lovin' son tends to go out first thing and eat them each morning. This Spring I was reading Dick Raymonds' Gardening Year and he suggested that peas don't need to be planted against a support, that you can plant them in blocks and they will mostly support each other. I wanted to test that theory out because then I would be able to grow peas anywhere without the need for support and it would also make rotation easier. (I tend to always plant my peas in the same place just because I already have the sturdy support in place)
Here is my test block about 10 days ago and here it is today. We will see how it works.
If they do hold up well I can see that we might have a lot more peas next year.
Since I tend to get a tiny bit carried away with talk (and pictures) of gardening, I thought I would post most of my flower pictures over here and keep this blog for veggie gardening. (until I bore everyone there with too many flower pictures and then have to start posting them here) ;-)
I've done both methods and really do think I get more pease when I stake them. Will be interesting to see what you find out!
ReplyDeleteI have an ancient copy of Dick's Gardening Year and love it (except for his reliance on chemical controls). I too got the idea of wide blocks of peas from him. My peas love being in blocks. It shades the ground, keeps weeds from germinating and they climb all over each other. I grow the edible peas - so maybe that's why it works so well - they only get 18 - 24 inches tall so I wouldn't stake them anyway.
ReplyDeleteI have so enjoyed watching your garden emerge this spring.
Hi Julie - it is such a good book, isn't it. I just skip over his info on chemical controls but he has such good ideas to try out. I also want to try out starting seeds in sod squares next year, seeing as how I am forever ripping out more grass around here I will have lots of sod to put to use.
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