HOW TO GROW PEAS..................

SOME LIKE IT HOT, but PEAS LIKE IT COLD ...................peas prefer cool growing conditions and will tolerate light frosts, they may be planted as soon as the ground can be worked and will germinate in a wide range of soil temperatures, 4-24°C (40-75°F).

There are many varieties of peas, but all GARDEN PEAS prefer a soil that is well-drained with limestone or wood ashes.

Pick peas on a regular basis to encourage more growth and a superior harvest. Try not to get your plants wet when watering, instead, use a weeper hose or low level watering device. Harvest peas while young for the sweetest flavor.

Make sure your soil drains well - PEAS can't tolerate wet soil. Peas grow well in Raised Beds. Digging in plenty of compost should provide the right texture. Avoid any soil additives that are high in nitrogen; like beans, peas are able to capture nitrogen from the air.

Choose your PEA!!! There are many kinds: General GARDEN PEAS (only the seeds are eaten), Chinese or snow peas (picked when the pods have reached full size but the seeds are still small and eaten pod and all), and snap peas (picked when both pod and seeds are mature; both are edible).

PLANT PEAS directly in the garden as soon as the soil can be worked, usually about five weeks before the last expected frost. Soak your seeds indoors for 24-48 hrs. before planting. Sow 1" deep, 2 inches apart, in rows about 2 feet apart.

You can make a simple trellis for your peas or plant them next to a fence. Most peas, - even dwarf varieties - like to climb. Peas are natural climbers, and will be more productive, and not as susceptible to rot, if given some support or planted along a fence or trellis. So please trellis your peas!!

Make sure young plants get about 1/2 inch of water a week (1 inch in very sandy soil). When plants begin to flower, they need an inch per week regardless of soil.

Help ensure heavy yields by feeding liquid seaweed or compost tea. Expect peas to be ready for picking about three weeks after the plants begin to flower.

Companion planting for your GARDEN PEAS:

Peas do well with carrot, celery, corn, cucumber, eggplant, early potato, radish, spinach, pepper and turnip.

Enjoy SOWING & GROWING your GARDEN PEAS!

www.RaisedBedGardenKits.com

Kim in the Garden..................... ;o)