Planting Bush Type Snap Pea Seeds. 2.10.22

Peas like chill and can be planted very early. I read "Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades" and the author, Steve Solomon, recommends a late winter crop of peas to condition the soil. He recommends just tilling then in before planting summer vegetables, but I hope for an early crop instead. Portland Nursery says they can be planted in February. Peas have very deep roots, bringing nutrients up from the depths and adding soil structure. If the soil contains Rhizobium bacteria, legumes (peas, bean, clover, alfalfa, among others) pull nitrogen out of the air, leaving it in the plant material when they are dead. That enriches the soil without chemicals or manures. I love snap peas and snow peas, and they are an expensive vegetable, so they are a good crop for me to grow. Plus the tender shhots are tasty too. However, my soil does not contain Rhizobium. I know that because the previous pea crops and bean crop roots did not contain the nodules that are made by the plant to host the bacteria. So I bought some Rhizobium inoculum by mail order, and inoculated the pea seeds with that.

Then I planted the inoculated pea seeds in trenches about two inches deep. The poles are willow, which is as strong and straight as bamboo. I source both in the garden for making stuff.

Then I filled in the trenches, covered with screening to keep birds away, and scattered slug bait to keep emerging seedlings safe from the miniature Brontosaurus of the invertebrate world. Now it's mostly just waiting. There are also more to plant this month.