Man, these peas are sooooo troublesome!
Since my last pea update:
- The original outdoor planted seeds, the few that are still around, are so short and scrawny. It's like they're the "tiny tim" of the pea world. They just seem stunted and not growing well at all.
- The second round of outdoor planted seeds: Not much sign from them yet.
- The first round of indoor planted seeds (planted in toilet paper tubes): Only those first ~8 peas took and were all transplanted a few weeks ago. ~6 of them are still going, much taller than the out-door sowed ones.
- I then sowed a second round in indoor seeds a week or two ago, this time in 3"x3" peat pots, two seeds in each pot, one of which then had a toilet paper tube poked around it (for protection against nibblers once they go outside). Didn't put these under any plastic greenhouse or bag, in the hopes of avoiding the moldy white stuff that overtook most of the first indoor seeds. Better germination rate from these for sure. However, the moldy white stuff still eventually became a factor which I think prevented the late bloomers from blooming, so only about 2/3 success with this round. I'm hoping the moldy stuff can be avoided next year by not using paper tubes at all. Lesson learned: Next time (such as for the fall crop!), start peas indoors again, but this time try just peat pots, no paper tubes and no plastic covering.
- Today I transplanted most of the second round of indoor peas outside (by just setting the peat pot into the soil to avoid disturbing the roots)-- no hardening off as there's no time, they're getting too tall now for the lights and I'm hoping being frost-hardy and with minimal root disturbance they'll be ok with just being put out suddenly like this.
- There are a few more of the second round of indoor peas, inside -- will give them another day or two to grow so that they hopefully won't succumb to whatever is tending to eat my outdoor-sown peas.
So, at this point, I am hopeful that I will get some peas yet!
Fingers crossed!
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