Planting Peas in the Ground: Close Row Method With Baby Greens

There is nothing worse than planting seeds and waiting 10 to 14 days and then 20 days only to find nothing comes up. It is a good practice to over plant your ground vegetable beds and then thin the plants. Plant more seeds than needed so you can handle the natural loses and failed germinations.

Peas can go in the ground 1-2 inches deep and 1-2 inches apart. They won't all come up. There is not a set standard for planting peas but they do need to be at least an inch deep but no more than two inches deep. They are probably planted the deepest of all seeds. You can follow the seed packs for thinning guidelines but they tend to over state the need for space.

Here is one method I use for planting peas and a baby greens patch. They are planted together in very limited space.

Turning the Ground for Peas and Greens: Gary Pilarchik

Under that bag of top soil is where all the grubs were growing in the previous blog. The strip of garden down the middle was turned and it now holds baby greens and peas.

Turned, Mounded and You Can See the Line of Peas: Gary Pilarchik

I mounded the ground because it will warm and stay warmer. It also drains better. You don't want your peas (and most vegetables) sitting in water. This is more an issue during the cool months when the sun doesn't evaporate the water quickly. My ground has a lot of clay and it doesn't always drain well. You can see the peas lined up right down the middle of the bed. I pushed them down with my finger between 1 and 2 inches deep. If they all came up, I would keep every other pea plant.

A Close Up of the Spacing for Pea Rows: Gary Pilarchik

I am also going to over plant lettuces and have a baby greens patch. Hundreds of mixed lettuce seeds went down. I will cut leaves or pull plants but the goal is baby greens not full heads.

Lettuce Seed Spacing for Baby Green: Gary Pilarchik

You can see how close the seeds are together. I just sprinkled them across the whole length of the planting area. I mixed them with my finger tips to about 1/4 -1/2 inch deep after I pushed the peas down into the ground. No science. No perfection. Just get the into the ground and water the area.

Row Peas Planted and Staked with Baby Greens: Gary Pilarchik

The stakes will be strung with jute as the peas grow and need to climb. Why do I take a picture of what seeds I plant? I forget! Getting old stinks. 

The Rusted Garden Blog Peas: Gary Pilarchik