How to plant peas..or other seeds for fall Harvest.

I know I know,  It is easy to plant seeds!...
except when it's not, and they don't come up, and you weed them because you can't remember what you planted in the first place... so i figured I would give a few tips to help get us from a packet of seeds in July, to a wok full of peas in September!

First, weed your area.  Get your bed all tidy and ready to go.  In my bed, I have some swiss chard and... well some... cucumbers?  I don't actually remember what I planted in 1/3 of the bed, but I do know that there are plenty of spaces for peas!!!  So I took my trusty hand held rake/hoe and picked all of the plants I can't eat (the weeds) to make a pretty bed.

Then I soaked the bed.  Soaked it.  Made it all muddy and stuff.  This will make it easier both to plant the seeds and to keep it wet.  The next week is going to be key!  It is going to be hard in the middle of the dry, hot summer to make sure you keep your little seeds moist, so start with a soaked base!

Then, I find a stick-type, planting tool.  I happen to have a piece of bamboo, but I have also used the backs of knives, a stick, a carrot, my finger, you get the idea.

Then make your holes for your seeds.  I find it is fastest to make the holes all at once and then drop the seeds in them.  The beauty of this is you can actually see the seeds you are planting

Cover them up, and then water again!

Then, find something to throw on the seeds.  I happen to have lots of tupperware lids, so I often use those.  Seeds don't need light for the first week or so, (or more) and it helps keep the water in and remind me to water EVERY DAY.

Until you see little pea plants, make sure your soil is wet every day :0)

Finally, Mark the plants with either the seed packet or with a sticky note in a mason jar.  I always tell myself I will remember where I planted what, but I never ever do.  I'm [pretty excited about this particular variety of peas, because they should be easy to spot and harvest on my way from work to the kitchen.. perhaps I will even make it in with enough for dinner :0)

Get your crops for fall and winter harvest planted now!

Cheers

Winter Gardens

OMG OMG OMG they finally arrived!

Some girls collect shoes, I collect seeds...With each season, I become enamoured with something else and decide I need one in each color.  There was the year of the tomato... 60 tomato plants all different colors and sizes, This spring, I became obsessed with planting the perfect kale and this summer has been all about pumpkins... and for the fall/winter garden,  I am thinking roots... really really big roots. (15 pound beet anyone?)

So I went onto the Baker Creek Website and ordered seeds to plant now and harvest sometime between October and January depending on the weather.

Here in Seattle, we have a great climate for planting autumn and winter gardens.  The killing frost often comes late, and it is usually pretty temperate, and rarely ever really hot.  This means that it is next to impossible to grow a watermelon,  but it is pretty easy to keep certain crops like kale growing (and harvesting) all winter.

Late June-mid july is a good time to seed things you would like to eat in the fall and winter.  It is a good time to re-plant a salad garden, which I will be doing because I am interested in learning about some of the heirloom lettuces.  I am going to plant the new lettuce garden where the elephant garlic was, because that bed is square and will be easy to put a cloche on when it gets colder to extend the harvest well into the winter.

I also am going to plant peas.  Often by this time of year, I am sick of peas because peas are one of the first things you can plant in the spring, so I go over board, but this spring I was moderate in my planting of them... because I was busy having a baby, so while we ate a few meals of awesome snap peas, I have not had my fill for the year.  I am excited to try a purple podding pea.  This will make them easier to harvest because they don't blend into the vines. 

Finally, raddicio.  I know next to nothing about raddicio, but I dream that it is really tasty.  I think the plants are beautiful, so on a whim I will plant some and see how it goes.

so excited so excited so excited!!!

Best part of collecting seeds instead of shoes?  I don't need a bigger closet!