Re: Peas don't sprout
- To: propagation@mallorn.com
- Subject: Re: Peas don't sprout
- From: s*@bway.net
- Date: Sun, 28 Mar 1999 18:40:48 -0500
>My husband, the vegetable gardener, has trouble gettin g his peas to sprout.
>We get them fresh every year from Pinetree and Cook's Garden and dust them
>with innoculant before planting. Some years none comes up at all! Yesterday he
>planted about half and set me to researching a better way to sprout the rest.
>Any advice?
Dear Betsey,
The problem is probably cold soil temperature. We too, had this problem in
Zone 6 (we are assuming you are in Zone 5) and solved it by:
Soaking the peas (overnight) in water, until they start to expand. But
beware, if you soak them too long, they will die because the water speeds
the germination process, and in the water they do not get enough oxygen.
We also start our peas in cell-packs (after overnight soaking) until they
sprout, and then plant them outside....it seems to work really well.
For our sweet peas we soak, and then place in moist paper towels in plastic
bags (at room temperature) until germination occurs. We then sow them in
qt. pots until we are ready to plant them. The pots can be put outdoors,
but should either be in a coldframe or buried, to prevent rapid freezing
when the outdoor temperatures drop.
We use the above method for the sweet peas because the germination
percentages are much lower for them, as compared to edible peas. Although
in all honesty, after about a month of diligently planting the germinating
sweet pea seeds, we seem to get distracted and start to forget about
them....There are always a few that seem to die in the bag.
BTW: We feel that the innoculant is usually unnecessary, most soils have
what the legumes need naturally. If you doubt that, you should try a
controlled experiment.
Bill & Harvey
SKID Plants Zone 6 CT USA
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