One of my favorite times of year is when I get to plant my peas in the ground. It’s the favorite garden veggie of choice at this household. The kids can’t get enough for those candy-like peas picked fresh from the garden. When I was looking up some information on peas this past winter I came across the ideas of growing oats with the peas. The oats are planted at the same time as the peas. The peas can then climb up the oats as they grow providing a trellis that not only is a lot cheaper than buying fencing but also add nutrients to the soil. I am excited to give this a try. I will keep you on the progress as the plants grow.
Related link: See my post on Cheap Pea Trellis Options
The varieties of peas that I am growing this year are: Super Sugar Snap, Green Arrow Shelling Peas, Mammoth Melting Snow Peas, Oregon Snow Peas, Wando Shelling Peas.
When planting the peas and oats I made sure I had enough room to walk in between each row so I could get in to access the peas when they are ready. I marked each row with a brick and made sure I could fit both my feet between each row. The pea plants themselves can be planted close together as they have shallow rows and I find thrive when competing with their neighboring plants.
I planted my peas right at the end of March. The weather has been back and forth with a lot of cool, below freezing nights. While peas and oats can withstand these frosty nights it took the seeds a while to germinate – over 2 weeks. By the end of April the peas started to establish themselves with their leaves unfolded and signs of the tendrils being formed.
I have never grown oats before so I am interested in seeing how they take off. The variety I choose was Cayuse Oats
Introduction Nothing is better from the garden than fresh peas. It’s that time of year again to begin to start planning for the upcoming garden season here in southeast Michigan. This year I am going to try growing Oregon Giant Snow Peas. I grew Dwarf Grey Sugar Snow Peas last year, and while they produced pretty pink flowers, the snow peas themselves weren’t all that great. When it come to growing vegetables, I want something that is going to taste good, first and foremost. I have heard of Oregon Giant Snow Peas before, so I thought I would give them a try.
. This is an old variety that been around since the late 1800s. It has been able to stick around because it’s a reliable producer. I have heard mixed reviews on these peas. Some loved them, some though they were much better varieties of snow peas available. 
Gardening can be a great rewarding experience. One of the most rewarding experiences is growing your own peas. Peas fresh picked from the garden have a sweet flavor you will never find in a grocery store. I like to grow shelling, sugar snap, and snow peas. But growing them doesn’t come without it’s challenges and setbacks. Yesterday, I was speaking with a friend and she said that after three weeks of being in the ground her peas still had not sprouted. So upon further examination, she discovered that her peas had simply rotted. Why does something like this happen? Well we have been experiencing a cold, very wet spring. Neither of these things are good for peas. Peas do like to grow in colder weather than other crops, but they do need the soil to be a certain temperature in order to germinate. The soil needs to be at least somewhere around 45 degrees for germination. We have had several days were our temperatures struggle to reach 45 as a high. Since germination has been slow, the amount of rain we have gotten most likely caused my friend’s peas to rot. These conditions are not the norm for our area. 
Turning my attention to my own garden. I was concerned that same thing was happening to me. I checked my peas today and even thought it has taken them twice as long as normal to germinate, I found some signs of green life sprouting out of the soil. I planted my seeds about a week or so later than she did. 
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