How to Grow Peas in your Garden !

How to Grow Peas   .    How to Grow Peas Peas Peas are well-suited to cooler temperate c limates. In fact, when temperatures exceed 20C (70F), most varieties of peas will stop producing pods. Peas are part of the legume (Latin Leguminosae) family of vegetables, which extract nitrogen from the air and store it in little nodules along their roots. For this reason, when the plants finish cropping, dig the roots directly into the soil, where they will slowly decompose and release nitrogen for other plants to use. Peas are a prime example of the difference between shop purchased vegetables and those fresh from the garden. Fresh peas win every time, on taste, texture and food value, and that includes frozen peas! If you grow peas year after year, save your seeds from pods that have 7 to 8 peas in the pod. When you fine some that large don't pick them just let them rippen and dry up.  Pick them and save them for the next year in your Frig crisper tray. You will save a lot of money this way and you will get a better crop next year.  Where To Grow Peas Peas will grow on most soils, although they prefer a medium well-dug soil with plenty of organic material. Do not add nitrogen to the soil before planting (or after) - peas extract nitrogen from the air sufficient for the needs. An over-rich soil will cause lots of leafy growth, but a reduced cop of peas. Peas like moisture, so do not plant too near walls or fences. A sunny area is best, although peas are tolerant of partial shade, especially if the shade occurs during the hottest part of the day. Maincrop peas are tall leggy plants (1.8 m / 6 ft), and they can easily be damaged if planted in areas exposed to high wind. Remember that the taller varieties will cast quite a shadow over any other crops nearby. A good plan is to use the space around the pea plants for smaller shade-tolerant plants vegetables -radishes are an excellent choice. When To Sow Peas By sowing a couple of varieties over a month or so, the cropping can be extended from mid-September to Mid April in Arizona.  The table below shows when to sow each type and when they will crop. Specific varieties are recommended later - use the menu on the top left of this page ('pea varieties') if you want to go there now. Type Sow Harvest Sow to Harvest First Early Mid September Mid November 12 weeks Second Early Mid November Mid Jan to Feb 14 weeks Maincrop Mid Jan Mid April to May 15 weeks Prepare the soil in Beginning of September to allow it to settle. Dig to at least a spade's depth (the roots of peas like to grow deeply), incorporating as much organic material as possible. Peat (or peat substitute) is fine because peas 'fix' nitrogen into their roots from the air and have little need for a nitrogen rich soil. Add a handful of bonemeal (two if the soil is poor) per square metre (yard), and incorporate it into the top soil. Peas can be sown outside with no protection in Sept. Remember if planted in pots first to harden off the seedlings prior to planting permanently. Place them outside a few hours a day to begin with. Water them well. For SEEDS Prepare a shallow drill using a trowel, and sow the seed 2.5cm (1in) deep - where more than one row is being sown, the distance apart should equal the eventual height of the plants. Sow the seeds singly at 5cm (2in) intervals - the germination rate is high and over-crowding will affect the health of the plants. One method of increasing the success rate is to soak the pea seeds in water for 4 hours before planting. When planted, water well if the conditions are at all dry. The seedlings should appear in approximately 15 days time. Care of Your Peas The first key need of peas is moisture, and they must be watered throughout their lives when conditions become dry. If the soil has been well-prepared they will have no further need for feeding. A mulch of organic material around the plants will help to keep weeds at bay and preserve moisture. Virtually all pea plants will require support of some kind, consult the seed packet to find out their final height. Most varieties will grow to at least 5 to 6 Feet. The easiest method of support is to place twigs near the plants - the tendrils of the plant will twine around the twigs for support. Thinnings from conifers are ideal - see left diagram. Another method is to erect canes in a row, tying in the plants as they grow - netting (available from most garden centers Loews or HomeDepot) tied to the canes will give extra support. The diagram on the right shows a row of canes secured together with twine at the top. Each plant is grown up its own individual cane and can then spread across the netting. Yet another method, and the best one from our view is to use plastic netting. Plant two rows of peas and when they start to come up, "cage" them with wire netting. The cage is simply supported by four canes at the corners. This method requires no tying in of the plants. And best of all, at the same time as supporting them it protects them from rabbits etc. IMPORTANT: The plants should be pinched out when they reach the top to encourage shoots further down the plants. Where the plants are grown against a fence, plastic netting can be secured to the fence and the tendrils will cling to it pulling the plant up. Garden peas are best when slightly immature - when fully mature they become hard and loose the sweet taste. Harvesting them early also encourages them to produce more. As a guide, peas are normally ready for harvest three weeks after flowering. Peas quickly loose their flavor after harvesting, so pick them just before they are required for cooking. Or Blanc and Freeze them within an hour of picking.  The peas at the bottom of the plant will tend to be ready first, so begin harvesting here, working up as time progresses. When the plant stops producing peas, cut the top of the plant off and leave the roots in the ground to compost for next year. Pest and Disease of Peas Mice will often eat the seeds quicker than you can sow them - if they live in your garden, there is no real cure. Some gardeners coat the seeds in paraffin, others buy a cat! Greenfly and Blackfly - click to the left for more details on how to identify and treat these pests of peas. The other main problems are Pea Moth, Pea Weevil or Pea Thrip. Happy Gardening Roland in Phoenix Here is some Free Gardening Gifts for You ! Follow Us on Twitter                     Follow Us on Facebook Follow us on Linkedin       Follow us on IBOToolBox Below    Happy Gardening Roland in Phoenix         Back to the Home Page 4176 West Hearn Rd, , Phoenix, Az, USA tel: 602-89-8342 | email: Rolandd@cox.net | website: http://www.gogreeninarizona.org/Gardening.html

Ten Tips for Ripening Tomatoes H'mm So Good !   10 Tips For Ripening Tomatoes Even If The Weather Is Against You Ripening tomatoes can be a challenge some years. Most gardeners have had a green tomato summer, when they just never seem to turn red. And, every gardener has been left with green tomatoes at the end of the season...it's mother nature's way after all. But with a bit of TLC, you can ripen your crop sooner, and even save most of those late bloomers at season’s end. Let me share some garden gnome tips to ripen your tomatoes, even during the coolest of summers! 1. Don’t plant your tomatoes too early. Yes. You read that correctly. Most tomatoes won’t grow well until soil temperature is at 60 degrees F, and you will stunt the growth of plants that go in too soon. They usually won’t recover to grow vigorously, so know when to plant. To raise soil temperature, try covering the tomato garden area with clear plastic for two weeks prior to setting out your plants.  2. Don’t mulch under your tomatoes until the soil temperature is at least 70 degrees F. The soil will warm faster without it. Studies have shown that a plastic mulch under your plants will ripen more fruit and sooner. The surprise is that red plastic mulch is most effective, but if you can’t find it, black will do.  3.   Tomatoes may blossom, but most varieties will not set fruit until your nighttime temperature is at least 55 degrees F, so pluck off blossoms until nights are warmer so that plants can focus on green growth. 4. You can raise nighttime temperatures by placing gallon milk jugs full of water around your young plants. They soak up sun during the day, and radiate it back toward your plants at night. If you have more money than milk jugs, you can buy a commercial product called Walls O’ Water.    5. Learn to prune your tomato plants, so that you get less plant and more fruit that will r ipen sooner. This includes topping the plant when it reaches the top of your trellis and pruning away side branches. 6. When a light frost is predicted, cover the plants with a tarp, sheet of plastic or sheet at night so that they don’t get frost damaged and stop ripening. (This is one of those times you'll probably wish you were a gnome and could predict the weather before it happens!) 7. If a hard frost is predicted, pick the green tomatoes and bring them indoors. If there is any yellow or pink on the fruit it will likely ripen within a few days to two weeks. A few will rot, but most will ripen nicely. Even many of the totally green fruit will ripen. 8. To ripen indoors, place them on a tray and cover with a thin sheet of paper, or cloth. Keep them in a warm, dry place where they will slowly begin the ripening process. Avoid over heating your tomatoes! Too much humidity and sunlight can cause rotting, and that can be a heartbreaking waste. Most years we are still eating ripe fruit in the burrow until Christmas.  9. When tomatoes begin to ripen, they will release ethylene gas, which helps speed up the process. If you'd like to slow down the process and spread your tomatoes out over time, remove ripened tomatoes from green. If you'd like a large batch of fresh tomatoes for a stew, do the opposite! You can also place ripe bananas, or apples in with your tomatoes to help them ripen at a quick pace. 10. Don't keep your ripe tomatoes too long, or they will loose their flavor. Eat them up. Fruit that is ripened indoors will not taste quite as good as vine ripened, but they will still taste far better than their store bought cousins. So, now you know the secrets to ripening tomatoes – no more green tomato summers - enjoy! Here is some Free Gardening Gifts for You ! Follow Us on Twitter                     Follow Us on Facebook Follow us on Linkedin       Follow us on IBOToolBox Below    Happy Gardening Roland in Phoenix         Back to the Home Page 4176 West Hearn Rd, , Phoenix, Az, USA tel: 602-89-8342 | email: Rolandd@cox.net | website: http://www.gogreeninarizona.org/

Foliar Feeding Can Almost Cure Nutrient Deficiencies and More ! Miracle Grow lets the Lazy or Limited Gardener Succeed.     Foliar Feeding Can Almost Instantly Cure Nutrient Deficiencies and More Foliar feeding means to by pass the plant’s root system and deliver plant nutrients dissolved in water directly to plant cells through their leaves. Most gardeners, organic or not, usually feed nutrients to their soil, let them breakdown, and wait for the roots to take them up. It’s very effective, but slow. If you begin to see a nutrient deficiency, you need a quick fix. Feeding the nutrients in liquid form by spraying the leaves is that quick fix. Some gardeners see the results within hours. Organic gardeners can use liquid organic fertlizer , and others can use chemical or synthetic fertilizers like Miracle Gro.  Any run off falls to the soil, where roots can later take it up later. While the root system is the primary feeding system for most plants, all have the ability to assimilate nutrients through their leaves, which are a green factory responsible for assimilating carbon and other elements through the process of photosynthesis. The leaves can process and absorb all of the macro nutrients a plant needs as well as the micro nutrients that are particularly difficult for organic gardeners to provide in the soil alone. Correcting deficiencies is only part of the picture. Foliar feed fruit crops, like tomatoes and cucumbers, and it will greatly increase both fruit set and yield. Lettuce, spinach and leafy veggies will grow to maturity faster, while remaining sweet and tender. Organic gardeners can spray on liquid Fish Fertilizer, rich in nitrogen, and other seaweed fertilizer sprays that often have as many as 50 different trace elements that plants need for health and growth. It is difficult to know the trace element content of most dry organic fertilizers, so foliar feeding can make up for what the soil is lacking. Many seniors, and other gardeners with physical limitations, have difficulty with the manual labor required to feed their gardens. Using liquid fertilizers like Miracle Gro, or the equivalent, can enable those gardeners to enjoy the same healthy fruits and vegetables as other gardeners. If you can turn on a faucet and drag a hose around, you can feed your garden. Miracle Gro Lets The Lazy Or Limited Gardener Succeed Miracle Gro, sometimes-misspelled miracle grow, fertilizer helps the senior, the physically limited, and the just-plain-lazy gardener grow veggies like the best of us. It also can provide essential plant nutrients that novices may not yet know are needed. Let me give you an example. I tend a garden behind a home and land owned by a senior citizen couple. Actually, he is old enough to collect social security. He has gardened all his life, but after a stroke it was all he could do to walk out into the garden. Making compost, digging in manure and other organic practices were completely beyond his diminished abilities. He thought his gardening days were over. Then he discovered Miracle Gro, by the Scotts Company. It is liquid fertilizer applied with a feeder that connects to the end of a garden hose. If you're strong enough to turn on a faucet and drag a hose around, you can still feed the garden. It has all of the primary, secondary and minor plant nutrients that a plant needs to thrive, and is Foliar feeding at its best. Suddenly, my senior friend was back to his gardening glory, able to feed and grow his vegetables, flowers and shrubs and harvest fresh wholesome produce. Scotts has an  All Purpose Plant Food  formulation with current fertilizer numbers of 24-8-16. They claim it is good for all plants, and it works great for lawns and shrubs, corn and leafy vegetables. Not so well for fruiting vegetables and flowers, these all require higher levels of phosphorus. They have a great  Tomato Plant Food  (18-18-21) that works pretty well. But for my tomatoes and other fruiting veggies, I prefer their  Bloom Booster  (15-30-15). Intended primarily for flowers, the extra phosphorus gives my veggies more blooms and a better fruit set. That makes my garden more prolific. All of these have the necessary secondary and trace elements that your plants need, so they provide your plants with a complete meal. Foliar feeding means that soil pH even becomes less of an issue. The excess run off goes into the soil to be taken up later by the roots. If you have a small garden, don’t use the hose feeder, mix a teaspoon or two into each gallon of water and sprinkle it on with your watering can. Either way, they are water soluble and will dissipate quickly. Repeat the feeding every one to three weeks until harvest for continued vigorous growth. Are the Scotts products the only chemical liquid fertilizers on the market? No, they're just the most popular. There are others that are just as effective. Make sure that the one you choose has the necessary secondary and trace elements included. I believe in organic gardening, but if you are physically limited, lazy or still learning what your plants need, Miracle Gro might be your best solution. Here is some Free Gardening Gifts for You ! Follow Us on Twitter                     Follow Us on Facebook Happy Gardening Roland in Phoenix           Back to the Home Page 4176 West Hearn Rd, , Phoenix, Az, USA tel: 602-89-8342 | email: Rolandd@cox.net | website: http://www.gogreeninarizona.org/

For Tasty Tomatoes Great Tomatoes Start with Good Soil   For Tasty Tomatoes You need the best tomato fertilizer to get the tastiest tomatoes. That means the best fertilizer specifically formulated for tomatoes, not just great fertilizer in general. You know the saying, “you are what you eat.” Well, that definitely applies to tomatoes; they are what you feed them. Tomatoes need particular nutrients at different stages of growth to ensure that they grow properly. Proper growth will ensure that the tomato fruits you harvest are sweet and tasty, as well as abundant. (That’s right, tomatoes are actually fruits!) Great Tomatoes Start With Good Soil For tasty tomatoes, start with good soil. After 179 years of living among the plant roots, I know a thing or two about good soil. Tomatoes like a soil that is rich, yet well drained. This means that they like lots of good organic matter , like compost . I will have more articles on compost later.  If you would like to use nothing but compost to feed your tomatoes, you need to prepare the soil at least a month or two before you plant your tomatoes so that the soil organisms have time to break down the compost into nutrients the plants can absorb. Also, augment your compost with rock phosphate so there is enough phosphorus for bloom and fruit production. The soil pH is also an important part of plant nutrient availability and tomato plant health. Tomatoes like a slightly acidic to neutral soil, which is a pH of 5.5-6.8. Within that range, the nutrients that tomatoes need are easily available to the plants. (They are not tightly bound to the soil particles.) Tomato Fertilizer For Tomato Seedlings Growing tomatoes do best with different types of fertilizer at different stages of growth. For supplemental fertilizer at the seedling stage, you will want to add a fertilizer with the ratio of 1:2:2. You can pick up a 2-4-4, 5-10-10, or a 10-20-20 fertilizer. It is the ratio that is important. If the numbers are small, use more; if larger, use less. Those fertilizer numbers refer to the ratio of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium in the fertilizer. You can purchase organic fertilizers or synthetic fertilizer with these nutrient ratios, though I urge you to lean toward the organic. During the seedling stage, your plants will lean heavily on the nitrogen in the fertilizer for good vegetative growth. Tomato Fertilizer During the First Flowering Stage. During the first flowering stage, plants need a higher ration of phosphorus and potassium so that they have a healthy flower and fruit set. Phosphorus is essential to help your plants develop strong roots and blooms. Potassium is active in many different plant systems, including water movement. Without enough potassium, the fruits will not develop properly—they will not be sweet, and will be uneven in color. Additionally, if the plants do not have enough potassium at this stage, the fruits will drop off the plant, and turn into compost. :-( Recognizing Nutrient Deficiencies As the plants grow, you will need to monitor them for proper nutrient levels. If nutrients are deficient, you will notice the following symptoms: Nitrogen deficiency:Yellowing of lower leaves, small or stunted upper leaves and flowers. Nitrogen excess:Excessively bushy plants with bright green leaves. Very few flowers. Phosphorous deficiency:Very dark green leaves with purple veins. Potassium deficiency:Dark green lower leaves that are rolling and curling in at the edges.  These three nutrients are imperative for good plant growth. It is important to monitor your tomato plants throughout the entire growing season so that if you notice a deficiency in one nutrient or another you can correct the problem before it is too late.  If you notice a nutrient deficiency, you will need to add nutrients in the proper dose of liquid fertilizer . Granular fertilizer and compost take some time to break down and become accessible to plants. The liquid fertilizers are immediately accessible and can begin working in plants as soon as you foliar feed your plants. Remember, though, more is not necessarily better. You always need to follow the instructions on the fertilizer label, and apply the fertilizer appropriately. If you feed your plants too much, it can actually kill them. Consider it a really bad case of plant indigestion. If you’ve ever eaten too much of something, you understand. The right tomato fertilizer will make all the difference. Here is some Free Gardening Gifts for You ! Follow Us on Twitter                     Follow Us on Facebook Happy Gardening Roland in Phoenix                     Back to the Home Page   4176 West Hearn Rd, , Phoenix, Az, USA t: 602-89-8342 | f: Your Fax e: Rolandd@cox.net | w: http://www.gogreeninarizona.org/Gardening.html