Mapleton Parade of Gardens

We went to the Mapleton parade of gardens today. There were about 8 gardeners willing to have people stop by to tour their gardens. It was fun to see what different people were doing in their plots. Some were large and some were quite small. We learned how to prune some of the non-producing shoots on tomatoes and start sweet potatoes. It was sponsored by the Mapleton Farmer's Market. (http://www.mapletonmarket.org/index.html)

When to plant the garden?

Watch soil temperature. (http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/it-time-plant-vegetables-ask-your-soil-thermometer)

Planting and Harvesting Peas

After putting in our yard last summer, we've been working on the garden this year. We have four garden boxes in the back yard, but there's a patch of county land behind our back fence which the county guys I talked to said was OK to use for a garden. I've been trying a few things out back there. One of those is peas. I have peas growing in two spots. One is in a couple rows running down the hill. I won't run rows down the hill anymore. The water runs off too quickly taking dirt and fertilizer with it. Half the plants on the left didn't come up. I think it was because the clay soil was to heavy. I believe the plants on the right are snow peas. They came up surprisingly well despite the clay.

I have some more going which I planted in a flat bed with mulch in it instead of just the clay soil. The watering and fertilizing is working better.

I wasn't aware that any other parts of the pea plant were edible besides the pods. I read about it online (http://gardening.about.com/od/vegetables/qt/Pea-Shoots-Tendrils.htm) and decided to give some pea shoots a try. I took off the tops of my tallest pea plants about a month ago. We had them as part of a salad with lettuce. They weren't bad. I want to try some stir fried.

Pea information:
Plants profile (http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=PISA6)
All about peas (http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/tip/all-about-peas.html)
All about peas (http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/peas/all-about-peas-article10250.html)
Nutrition information (http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2521/2)
Disease information (http://learningstore.uwex.edu/assets/pdfs/A1167.PDF)
Companion plant information (http://organicgardening.about.com/od/vegetablesherbs/qt/The-Best-Companion-Plants-For-Garden-Peas.htm)(http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/companion-planting-guide-zmaz81mjzraw.aspx?PageId=1#axzz33upDExKF)(http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/companion-planting-guide-article10888.html)

2014 diary:
First planting - 1 row sugar snap, 1 row snow peas, soil: clay, planted mid-April, emerged in May, sugar snap didn't come up well, flowers noticed last half of may, pods seen first week in June.
Second planting - 1 row sugar snap, 1 row snow peas, soil: compost, planted mid-May, emerged in May