Gardening: Snow peas and carrots are easy to grow and so delicious that they might not make it to the kitchen.
When I was young I lived across the street from a woman with a large garden. She told me I could eat whatever I wanted, so I took her at her word.
I’d start with the sugar peas, popping the sweet, crisp delicacies into my mouth. Then I’d move to the carrot bed, pulling out the long, crunchy orange vegetables and readily munching them down. This fresh produce was so satisfying, I didn’t even think about candy–a miracle for a child of 8.
If you’ve never had a snow pea or carrot right out of the garden, you’ve never had a snow pea or carrot. When grown in the back yard, these vegetables pale in comparison to store-bought varieties. Thanks to our mild Southern California weather, snow peas and carrots flourish in the fall, winter and spring.
Also known as sugar peas, snow peas are very expensive in the market. But there’s no need to pay high prices, because they are easy to grow.
“Snow peas are almost a foolproof crop,” says Stan Tinkle, a member of the California Organic Gardening Club, who has been growing peas for more than 20 years. “They are really tasty and especially good stir-fried with sprouts, if they make it back into the house. Often they don’t because they’re so good I eat them right there in the garden.”There are two general types of snow peas: bush and climbers. The bush are a short variety, while the climbers can grow up to 6 feet or more and need to be trellised.
At this time of year, one can find pea seeds and plants in nurseries. Before planting, make sure to properly prepare the bed.
“Although peas aren’t picky, like any plant they need well-drained soil,” says Scott Lathrop, general manager of Flowerdale Nursery in Santa Ana. “The clay soil found here should be amended with compost or planting mix to loosen it.”
If you are using seeds, you must also prepare them. Do this by soaking them in warm water overnight for at least six to 12 hours, which will hasten the germination time. When planting the seeds, push them in 1 or 2 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches apart.
Once your seeds start to germinate, protect them from birds by covering them with netting, row cover or some other protective barrier until they are larger.
When the plants are young, they are also susceptible to garden pests such as sow bugs, snails, cutworms, caterpillars and slugs. To prevent cutworms, you can place paper collars around the base of every plant, but Tinkle says this can be time-consuming and suggests “zapping them with BT, which is found in the products Attack and Dipel.”
Tinkle also keeps bugs away from his plants by placing a band of wood ash around them. “There is potash in the ashes, which will kill (many pests),” he says.
If you’re growing the climbing variety of peas, you need to provide them with a trellis. There are many things you can use for this purpose, including chicken wire and wood fencing.
“I normally recommend Ross Grownet, which is netting that can be attached to stakes,” says Lathrop. “Pea plants readily grow on this, and it can be easily stored once the season is finished.”
Tinkle makes 8-foot wire tubes for single pea plants.When it comes to fertilizing, many experts say peas don’t need much. “One application of fertilizer two weeks after planting is sufficient,” says Nola Skyler, vice president on the board of directors for the UCI Arboretum and editor of the Orange County Horticultural Society’s newsletter.
Tinkle, on the other hand, believes that peas do better with a little more fertilizing.
“When planting peas, I first dig down 8 inches and put a slow-release fertilizer in the soil, such as chicken manure, or anything that is blood meal-based,” he says. “When the plants are about 6 inches high, the roots reach the fertilizer.”
Peas need a continuous supply of moisture, so give them a good soaking on a regular basis. Don’t give them too much water, though, because they’re susceptible to root rot. And never water from overhead; they are prone to mildew.
If you do have mildew, Tinkle suggests nipping it in the bud by spraying the plants with a mixture of fine ground sulfur and water. He mixes a teaspoon to a quart and sprays it on after the sun has gone down, rinsing it off the next morning.
Store-bought carrots taste like cardboard next to the home-grown variety. Pull one of these tender vegetables out of your garden and you’re likely to eat it right then and there.
You won’t find carrot plants in the nursery, because they must be planted as seed and cannot be transplanted.
“Before planting, do a really good job of preparing your carrot bed,” says Skyler. “If your soil is too hard, you will have stunted carrots. The hard earth may even cause them to push themselves out of the ground, and they will become dry and tasteless.”
Skyler has raised beds, which she says are ideal for carrots because the soil is loose. If you don’t have raised beds, cultivate your soil well, adding compost or planting mix.
Preparing the seeds for planting is also important. Although it isn’t mandatory, Skyler soaks carrot seeds before planting. “They are hard to germinate because they have a really tough seed with a thick hull, so I soak them in hot water first,” she says. “I’ve also recently begun experimenting with microwaving the seeds for a little while to soften them up.”
Planting the seeds also takes some care. Carrot seeds are tiny, brown and hard to see, which makes it easy to plant too many in one area. To help prevent this, mix the seeds with sand or vermiculite to get a more even distribution. Or try using a saltshaker or seed tape made of tissue paper that disintegrates.
Plant carrot seeds from 1/8- to 1/4-inch deep. To prevent the tiny seeds from washing away when watered, Skyler covers them with newspaper and waters over that.
Make sure that the seeds stay moist, because if they dry up they will die. Generally, they germinate within one to three weeks.
According to Mike Graupner, editor of the California Organic Gardening Club newsletter and past president of the group, carrots also have difficulty germinating in Southern California because our soil and water is highly alkaline.“Carrots are a part of the parsley family, and they need more acidic water than is found in this area,” he says. “Water pH here is 8 and carrots ideally need 6.5.”
To solve this pH problem, Graupner suggests filling a 33-gallon trash can with water and adding a half cup to a cup of vinegar. “You can then test the water with a pool water pH kit to make sure the pH is around 6 and use the solution to water the carrot seeds,” he says. “You can also use rainwater, which is more acidic, or interplant the carrots with radishes. The latter plants emit a mild acid.”
Despite your best efforts to evenly disburse the carrot seeds when planting, thinning is necessary. Lathrop suggests hand pulling when the carrots reach 2 to 3 inches, while Graupner drags a garden rake through the carrots, tearing out half of them. Skyler likes to let them grow to small carrot size and eats them. Just keep in mind that you do need to thin them or you will end up with misshapen, stunted carrots.
Unlike peas, carrots need more frequent fertilizing. Graupner suggests initially boosting the soil with compost and then watering with a mild fish emulsion and water solution or other organic fertilizer. According to Lathrop, you should also add a high phosphorus fertilizer to your soil when planting and throughout the growing season.
Opinions vary on when to water carrots. Some experts insist that when the carrots are about 2 to 3 inches high, you should only water when they show a definite need; this causes the carrot to stretch down for water–creating straight, large carrots. Others say you should give carrots even moisture and never allow them to dry out.
Carrots can be harvested at any size. They store in the ground and don’t need to be pulled until you want them. You should use them within three months, though, as they will eventually become dry.
