Snap peas - no sprouts : (

[shaefins]

I direct seeded sugar snap peas on Wednesday, 4/14 in the morning. There is *nothing* going on there! They were Sugar Daddy variety, I soaked them overnight and used an inoculant when planting. They're planted in a mix of composts, peat and vermiculite. I could see not getting 100% of them to start...but none? Germination time on the package was 7-10 days. I'm past that now. Any thoughts on what went wrong?

[Dillbert]

>>what went wrong

maybe nothing. is the seeding area disturbed? (birds also like peas....)

I soaked mine over-night, they came up in a week +/- but since then have just sat there about 1" tall waiting for . . . (I dunno!)

soil temp also plays a role. perhaps your plot is still a bit on the cool side?

[rainbowgardener]

Peas like cool... they should be fine even through some snow and frost. Someone elsewhere here was talking about just throwing peas on top of snow as a winter-sowing thing.

I don't know what happened to your peas, not knowing the conditions. Either drying out or waterlogging and rotting out could prevent sprouting. I would see if you can dig one up and see what is happening that way. That should tell you if they are starting to sprout and just not up yet, have rotted away, shriveled and dried up or what.

[shaefins]

Nothing looks disturbed. I noticed that in both beds, the mix gets kind of crusty and cracked on the top, just about a quarter inch, but under that is generally fairly moist and soft.

Maybe I'll try to find one and have a look. If, by chance, it does look like it's sprouting, can I put it back?

[applestar]

I rather think you're still on schedule. I planted peas on 4/14 where the soil remains coolest in my garden (according to snow thaw pattern this spring). They are just starting to emerge now -- about 1/2". I think Pittsburgh area is probably cooler than in my area. Depth of planting will also dictate. I planted shallow, hoping to keep them above the colder soil, but had to add extra soil on top because the germinating peas kept popping out (the root pushed the peas out of the soil -- I kept having to poke a hole and dropping them back in -- Too late, I recalled jal_ut's instructions to STEP on the row in another thread, and how I DIDN'T do that. )

[shaefins]

The soil temp thing is confusing for me. I'm new to all of this, but it seems that, given my raised beds w/ all "new" fill should be rather warm. There's no soil beneath them to cool them down, so wouldn't the heat from the sun heat it up fairly quickly? We started off w/ about 14 inches, but it's settled a good bit now, maybe 12-13 inches.

Maybe I should get a soil thermometer. If nothing else, it would educate me on what exactly happens temp wise in a true raised bed.

I'll make a note of the stepping on method of planting. Makes sense to me!

[Dillbert]

>>Maybe I should get a soil thermometer.

now that would take all the fun out of it [g]
I have one, I use it.
which doesn't mean I don't get antsy sometimes - but it is very helpful to actually _know_ how the plot is doing.

[kylie77]

I planted peas about 2.5 weeks ago. After reading this I went out to investigate mine since nothing was popping up yet. Of course as soon as I started to worry about them, I noticed one popping up. I moved the soil a little and found that I have others JUST about to break the surface. So all is well! Just be patient, they'll come I'm sure.

[DoubleDogFarm]

I recalled jal_ut's instructions to STEP on the row in another thread, and how I DIDN'T do that. )

I'll make a note of the stepping on method of planting. Makes sense to me!

I find jal_ut to be a very skilled Master Gardener, but I don't agree with this one. Soil contact with seed is one thing, compaction is another. I spend quite some time on my raised beds, building soil. My whole point of raised beds is not to walk on them.

[applestar]

So what would *you* recommend? Deeper sowing? Softer seedbed so the root can grow down without pushing out the pea

[DoubleDogFarm]

Apple,

I usually hoe a furrow about 1 1\2" deep, place the seed and cover with "Soil Building Compost" (gardener & Bloome). Some maybe even 2" deep. With loose fluffy stuff, no crusting, they come right up. Most catalogs recomend a spacing of 1" apart If sown more heavily, they support each other better.

[jal_ut]

Peas. I planted on April 12. Today, April 26, they are coming up.
Time to germinate will vary depending on the soil temperature and dampness.
Yes, you can dig one or two up to see if they are sprouted. Yes, you can replant them if you find that they are sprouted.
Perhaps a little patience?

(BTW DoubleDogFarm, I did step on them. )

A side note, all the other stuff I planted on the 12th is up too except for the carrots. We are supposed to get a storm midweek, and cooler weather. Snow down to 6000 ft. It wouldn[t surprise me if it snowed here at 5000 ft.

[DoubleDogFarm]

(BTW DoubleDogFarm, I did step on them. )

Ok If it works for you

[shaefins]

Update - nada. Not one sprout out of 32 seeds planted. I'm going to tell myself it was a bad packet of seeds and NOT user error!

Are snap peas candidates for a fall crop?

[jal_ut]

Dig some up and see what is going on.

If you find them looking like they did when planted, you need to water them.

If you find them rotted, then it was too cool and wet.

If you find them germinated, but dead, with a dead root, then they started to germinate and dried out.

If you find them germinated, with a nice healthy root, then patience.

Were you planting in containers? That soil mix you mention makes me think containers.

Do you have a plot of real soil?
I suggest direct seeding some in real soil where they will be grown if you have such a plot available. Plant them 1.5 inches deep and water them. It is not too late to plant peas.

[shaefins]

They were planted in a raised bed. I went all through the rows they were planted in and found....nothing! No sign I'd planted *anything* there. The soil wasn't disturbed, so I don't think critters got to them. No clue what happened. Maybe it was a bad batch? I might try germinating some in a wet paper towel just to see if anything happens. If they do show some life, I'll toss some back in the bed and see what happens.

[rainbowgardener]

They were planted in a raised bed. I went all through the rows they were planted in and found....nothing! No sign I'd planted *anything* there.

You mean all the seeds just disappeared? When you tried to dig them up, they weren't there? Assuming birds or critters didn't get them, the only thing I can think is that they stayed to wet and just rotted away to nothing...

[applestar]

As pea seeds (corn, bean, etc.) push out of the soil, birds -- especially blackbirds and grackles -- will yank them out. Robins sometimes pull them out too though they won't eat them -- I'm guessing they look like they might be worms.

My peas, as I mentioned, kept popping out (though I really think they were doing it on their own due to compacted soil. If I wasn't out there pushing them back in the ground, some bird or animal would have made off with the sprouted peas.