# Too early for peas??



## retiredbop (Mar 9, 2007)

North Central PA, zone 6.

Is it too early to plant peas? I've never done early/late peas, but the plan this year is to freeze a whole bunch of the produce we need to get through the winter. And please, don't bother telling me to can them. I *hate* canned veggies, except for corn or mushrooms.


----------



## MaineFarmMom (Dec 29, 2002)

I don't can peas either. 

If the soil isn't muddy you can plant now. I'm jealous! My garden is still under 6" of snow.


----------



## Jennifer Brewer (Aug 3, 2005)

I am zone 5, and they say that you can plant peas in March here as soon as the soil is workable. I imagine you better hurry in zone 6!


----------



## Niki (Apr 9, 2006)

I'm in NE Ohio and I get them in the ground as early as possible. I planted my seeds this past friday when the ground was still frozen. I will have to go back out and tend to it, but they are under the cold earth and that makes my peas happy happy!


----------



## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

I suggest that you learn to plant by soil temperature and you will know if it is too early to plant. 

I am in zone 6 in south central Kansas. Our soil temperature just did hit 47Âº yesterday. It isn't considered that temperature until it has been that or above for a week.

At 41Âº soil temperature it takes 36 days for pea seedlings to emerge from the soil.
At 50Âº it takes 14 days, at 59Âº it takes 9 days, at 68Âº it takes 8 days and at optimum temperature of 77Âº it takes only 5 days. As the soil temperature goes higher it starts taking longer once again.

Once the soil temperature hits 50Âº here for several days I'll be planting peas, but only with treated seed so that it doesn't rot before it germinates.

Early gardens are always the best in my opinion, but rush too much and you're wasting seed and your time.


----------



## Old_Grey_Mare (Feb 18, 2006)

When I lived in Nevada in zone 3 or 4 I always planted my sugar snap peas in a raised bed in March.

Mary


----------



## hillsidedigger (Sep 19, 2006)

Upper Zone 7 verging on 6 here. I start peas after the first New Moon after February 15 and they have already sprouted.


----------



## MaineFarmMom (Dec 29, 2002)

Zone doesn't tell you when your soil is going to be thawed, warm enough, dry enough, when the last frost will be or any else except what the average coldest temperature is in your area. Never mind zone. I'm in 5 and still have 6" of snow on the garden and probably a foot of frost in the ground. I won't be planting peas for at least another month.

The only thing zones tell us is the average annual coldest temperature. We give them far too much credit for things they don't do.


----------



## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

Windy in Kansas said:


> at optimum temperature of 77Âº it takes only 5 days. As the soil temperature goes higher it starts taking longer once again.
> 
> Once the soil temperature hits 50Âº here for several days I'll be planting peas, but only with treated seed so that it doesn't rot before it germinates.
> 
> Early gardens are always the best in my opinion, but rush too much and you're wasting seed and your time.



I thought peas were cool weather crops?


----------



## DoubleD (Jan 28, 2007)

Peas are very tolerant of cool weather and will bolt if the weather is too warm. They have a short window of "just right" to produce in. Hence the race to get them in early to enjoy a longer harvest. They WILL germinate at lower temps and thrive in cooler conditions... but given their druthers... they would rather germinate in warmer soil. The plant's mission is not to feed you a long harvest ... rather to sprout, grow, produce viable seed, reproduce, and die. Their preference is to come out of the shoot fast...and race to the finish line. It is our needs that dictate a long slow process so we can maximize harvest.


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

The old wive's tale says to plant peas in Ohio on St. Patricks day. I've done that before and had beautiful crops. 

I like to freeze peas, no blanching or cooking of any kind, just freeze them raw. Then just heat them enough to warm them, add some butter, and eat. Only a bit less tasty than raw peas but sooooo much better than canned mush peas.


----------



## Jenn (Nov 9, 2004)

Too LATE I believe here in ALabama. And planting last fall- they froze off- so I'll see if my Dec planted ones crop this year.


----------



## retiredbop (Mar 9, 2007)

Well, the wife and the weather nixed planting peas this week. I have to wait until next week to get the roto-tiller back from the shop according to the "financial manager" of the house. And it's raining like crazy here right now. So it wouldn't be good to put them in this really wet ground anyway. _I think? All of this is guessing right now, except for waiting until payday. That was explained in no uncertain terms!_


----------



## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> I thought peas were cool weather crops?


Those are the preferred growing conditions, but they still need some warm soil in which to germinate. 

I expect they would do great planted under some soil warming poly which one would remove after they get to growing.

Some gardening information is geared toward how many growing degree days an area receives. I think for growing to take place 50Âº and above has to be achieved. I can't find a current growing degree logging site for my area or I'd see what it is.


----------



## tweety (Oct 14, 2005)

I have heard that you plant peas in the spring when you can squeeze a handful of the garden soil into a ball and it won't fall apart. In other words, not still too muddy, not dried out. I do know that peas planted early will grow fairly slowly at first, and those planted a little later will catch up so that they all seem to bloom at the same time. (Personal observation when I planted two batches about 2-3 weeks apart) From that I concluded that the planting time is sort of flexible.
I always plant Sugar Snaps and freeze them if I don't eat them all right up.
Thanks for the reminder everyone! The snow just melted off my garden so I'd better go buy some pea seeds!


----------



## MoonShine (Mar 17, 2003)

I think it's still a little too early here,the soil isn't warm enough,so I'm waiting a bit longer.


----------



## Niki (Apr 9, 2006)

Me peas are always the sweetest and produce the best crop when I plant them early, early, early. The love the cold...they really do  (I'm glad I'm not a pea lol)


----------



## country chick (Feb 3, 2007)

I go by the "as soon as the soil is workable method" for peas. Planted them today! I also always use a legume inoculant when I plant. Does anyone else use it?


----------



## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

In my zone it seems now too warm for peas.  We've had no spring. It went from record freezes to summer.


----------



## Dirtslinger (Feb 10, 2007)

"when soil is workable" doesn't mean thawed soil, it actually means when it isn't muddy from spring snow melt.
I just read this in a good book.


----------



## tikaani (Apr 3, 2005)

zone 7 in arkansas and my peas are up already and doing fine. I would rather take a chance with too early than to risk planting too late on peas.


----------



## Zebraman (Aug 11, 2006)

Hey Guys;I am in Southern CA.I planted Tall Telephone Peas a couple of months ago and they grew about 5 ft tall and really bushy.They just started blooming last week.I also started Amish snap which I love.They are up about 8".I am also thinking about putting in some Thomas Laxton's as well.I also have Cherokee Purple tomatoes that are about 12" tall that grew from tomatoes that fell from the plants as I got way too many last year.I also grew 20 other varieties as well.I have 19 varieties sprouting that I didn't grow last year.


----------



## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

The only thing holding me back from planting the early snow peas is that their area is still under almost a foot of white ice! Just enough shade from a neighbor's Colorado spruce so that there's a thawing delay. There's been a few years when I have had them up and climbing by tax time. The ground was made ready for them already last fall so all I'll have to do is poke the seed down into the soil and wait for something to happen.

Martin


----------



## marcir (Mar 15, 2006)

hi Suburbanite, got yer drift about our wacky weather in Nor California. I planted Sugar Snap and shelling peas the second week of Feb. and they are six inches tall. Sometimes when I plant them that early, they rot in the ground. It''s a toss-up each season. Yo no se.


----------

