Time to Sow Sweet Peas & Carrots! Order Seed

It’s time to sow Sweet Peas & Carrots! To order seed, click links and photos.

If your ground is just starting to thaw (soil temps above 40° F), you want to be thinking about planting two garden favorites, peas and carrots. In the three winters that I have been growing food, I have had great luck with seeds from Botanical Interests and wanted to share them with you.

Cascadia Sweet Pea Blossoms in the Late Bloomer Garden

In 2012, I bought my first sweet pea plants from the nursery and they were covered in white mold or powdery mildew before I ever got any peas. It was nasty. I was determined to find varieties that would resist mildew, and I have.

Pea Snap Cascadia – 58 days. “Homegrown peas taste so much better than store bought peas! Like snap or green beans, pods and all are consumed! Cascadia has 3″ long, deep green, thick, juicy pods that are very flavorful. Serve raw with dip, steam, or stir fry. Short, 30″ vines are self supporting. Resists mildew and pea enation virus. In USDA zones 8 or warmer, sow in fall or winter for winter harvest.”

Cascadia Sweet Pea pod on vine – Click photo to order seeds

Because I am in zone 11, I could have started my peas in November, but everything ran late for me this year, so this 58-day variety was especially desirable. I stuck seeds in all around my large raised bed (I call it my Back 40) and supported them with short cages I bought for my peppers. (Talk about improvising!) I did it as much for soil health as the peas I could eat. Legumes are a nitrogen fixer, so I plan to clip these vines when exhausted, and hopefully it will prime the bed for planting my corn. You don’t have to support these short vines, but I try to keep them off the ground where sow bugs take full advantage. Fortunately, we still have cool days in April, so I expect to get another month of production. They are just starting to deliver now.

Back 40 bed with Cascadia peas supported by small plant cages

Pea Snow Oregon Sugar Pod II Organic – 60 days. “This is one of those vegetables that tastes much better home grown than from a store. Oregon Sugar Pod II produces a huge number of 4″ delicious pods which are harvested and eaten when the pods are flat, before the seed forms. Short, 28″ vines are easy to manage. Resists mildew, pea virus, and common wilt. Excellent freezer variety. Grow on a trellis.”

Oregon Sugar Pod II blooms – Click photo to order seeds

It’s always preferable to plant heirloom seeds because you are preserving history, however, if it just becomes impossible to grow your favorite veggies due to mildew and viruses that remain present in gardens that never freeze, I recommend these two varieties which have been bred to resist disease. All Botanical Interests seeds are NON-GMO. They have signed the Safe Seed Pledge. Snow peas really are camouflaged and you have to look hard to find the pods.

Oregon Sugar Pea Pod II

Progress #9 Organic Heirloom – Click link to order. If you are looking for a shelling pea, I recommend this classic!

It’s a great time to order pea seeds as they are all 20% off! In addition, right now you get free standard shipping with orders of $60 or more.

For the gardener who’s had trouble getting carrots to germinate, Botanical Interests has seed planting tape. The seed stays in place and the tape biodegrades. Nothing could be simpler planting hard-to-germinate carrots than using this seed tape, and these Heirloom Baby Finger carrots are short season. Cut tape to fit your space. And don’t forget to water! I ordered the root vegetable tape. They also have a 9 vegetable seed tape!

Root Vegetable Seed Tape – Click photo to order seed tape

Click to order pea seeds

Botanical Interests has seed tapes and discs for many herbs and veggies to help you achieve planting success. Seed tape keeps seed in place until germination. It is biodegradable and reduces the need to thin overcrowded seedlings. Simply cut the tape to fit your growing area, place in a shallow trench, cover with soil, water and keep evenly moist.

Please check out my Carrot Adventure episode. I wish I’d had this carrot seed tape when I planted my last batch!

It’s time to sow sweet peas & carrots, as well as time to stock up on seeds and supplies for direct-sowing for summer. Happy gardening and please let me know if seed tapes are helpful! – Kaye

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Category: Community, Cool Season, Seeds, Store, Vegetables