Most people—me included—find that the toughest part about growing peas is figuring out how to support them properly. In my garden I grow only one type of peas: edible pod peas (rather than shelling peas or snow peas). I eat most of my peas raw rather than cooked, and that’s not something you can do with the other types.
I’ve tried several different varieties of edible pod peas and always come back to Sugar Snaps. In the fall I grow the bush variety Sugar Ann, but for my main midsummer crop I find Sugar Snap produces the most peas and has the longest harvest season. The downside is that these plants get very tall, usually topping out at well over 7 feet.
And that gets me back to pea fences. It’s critical that you decide how you’re going to support your peas BEFORE you plant them. Ideally, you’re ready to put up the trellis the same day you plant your peas. If the weather is right, the seeds will germinate in a matter of days, and baby peas will start searching immediately for something to grab onto. Two things happen if there’s nothing there to grab: their growth will be arrested and they’ll flop over.
Because pea stems are extremely brittle, they often break if you try to bend them up to reach a trellis. The best thing is to have your trellis in place, with the bottom “rung” no more than 2" above the soil surface.
Remember that peas climb, they don’t twine. At each node along their stems, they generate two or three 1" long tendrils. These tendrils need to grab and then wind themselves around something that’s less than about a quarter inch in diameter. I have used three different techniques for supporting peas: twine, netting and galvanized fencing.
Twine
Pea tendrils love to grab onto the rough texture of natural jute twine. It's the most versatile option because you can make your trellis as long and as tall as you wish. Start with three or four rows of twine and add more as the plants grow taller. Be sure to put in twice as many stakes or poles as you think will be necessary. I also find that natural jute twine stretches over time, so string it very tight and be prepared to reinforce as the season progresses.
 Fresh peas are usually one of the first harvests of spring. |
Netting
I’ve used this polypropylene netting many times and am a huge fan. It’s the perfect height right out of the package (6.5 feet) and is 30 feet long, so I get two years of trellis from one package. The mesh has big, 6" openings, which is ideal. Just like with twine, you should put in more vertical supports than you think. I have tried bamboo poles and hardwood stakes, but they’re never tall enough. My latest and greatest solution is 8’ tall green metal “T” posts.
Fencing
This year we’re introducing a new galvanized wire pea fence that’s 5'4" tall. It has eight, 12" wide, hinged panels that can be zig-zagged down your row of peas. This zig-zag design provides extra stability, but we still recommend staking the fence at each end and once in the middle. (A 7-foot wall of peas makes a very effective sail.) We’ve been selling a shorter version of this fence for many years and it works great for bush peas.
How do YOU support your peas? Leave a comment below!
-Kathy LaLiberte, Director of Gardening
2008 will be my 30th year in the garden. But it's only my third year wearing garden gloves. Until a couple years ago, I never wore gloves in the garden unless I was pruning roses or raspberries.
There are a couple of reasons I was so resistant to wearing gloves. First is that living in northern Vermont, I already have to wear gloves five months a year just to keep my hands from freezing. When winter is finally gone I want nothing to do with coats, hats or gloves.
The main reason is that until recently, you had to choose between stiff, heavy leather work gloves and prissy cotton gloves that were suitable for a garden party but useless in the garden.
Fortunately, garden gloves have finally caught up with the 21st century—just in time to rescue my 50-year-old hands! I've gone from never wearing gloves to always wearing gloves almost overnight. This conversion was made possible by three innovative glove designs.
- Mud Gloves
- These are the only gloves I wear in early spring and late fall. It's a comfortable knitted cotton hand that's been dipped in flexible, waterproof vinyl. All but the wrist and very top of the hand are completely protected from cold wet soil, bristly brush and rough stones. I now keep at least 3 pairs of Mud Gloves in my glove basket on the front porch, and will usually use all of them at some point over the course of a weekend. Depending on the work and the weather, they'll get wet or encased in mud. Or I'll remove them to answer the phone or pull back my hair and manage to lose them for a few hours. Several different companies are now making this type of glove. The fit and thickness of the vinyl varies, so try a few different styles until you find the one that's right for you.
This style from West Country, called the Garden Glove, has a fit like a driving glove. |
- Knitted Nylon and Faux Leather Work Gloves
- I have large hands, but they're long and slender. In days past, men's leather work gloves were the only option for working with stone and other rough materials. I found those gloves loose and sloppy. Enter West Country Gloves. Their knitted nylon gloves have a close, comfortable fit and palms that are covered with textured faux leather. I'm not usually a fan of faux, but in this case, you get the same protection as leather, in a material that stays drier and never stiffens.
I wear these gloves hard and have gone through several pair over the past couple years. Everyone in my household has at least a couple pair, and I've also given them as presents to most of my gardening friends. They now come in fun colors like purple and green, and there's even an insulated version that's perfect for stacking and hauling wood.
- Nitrile Gloves
- These are the gloves I couldn't live without. I feel a little sheepish admitting that I put them on almost every time I head out into the yard and garden. My collection now includes about a dozen different brands and colors and sizes. All are made of lightweight knitted nylon, with a very thin layer of flexible rubberized material on the palm. They're cool in even the hottest weather. They dry quickly and can be washed in the washer (though I find the rubbery coating lasts longer if you hand wash them). I recommend always having at least a couple pair of them around so you can put on dry ones when you go back outdoors after lunch or tea.
The best thing about these gloves is that the water-resistant coating is so thin, I can (and do) wear them to do everything, including planting seeds and thinning seedlings. They let me feel what I'm doing. This is a practical advantage, but for me it's also metaphysical. One of the reasons I garden is because I get to experience a dissolving of the space between me and plants and earth. In the past, gloves got in the way of this connection. (My guess is that this will either make complete sense to you or it will sound a bit crazy, but I can't think of any other way to put it.)
We now offer a wide-ranging selection of gloves for the 21st century. Do you have a favorite glove to recommend? If so, please leave a comment below!
-Kathy LaLiberte, Director of Gardening
When starting plants from seed, it's a good idea to experiment with different sorts of pots and trays. |
I like the fact that gardening is a leisure-time activity that doesn’t require buying a lot of stuff. Of course my basement, barn and garden shed tell quite a different story, but most of it isn’t anything I really NEED to be a successful gardener.
That said, I've found there are a few gardening activities in which gear does make a difference. One of those is seedstarting. It’s true that even a kindergartener can get a marigold seed to germinate in a recycled yogurt cup. But if I’m starting peppers, petunias or parsley from seed, or am trying to fill my cutting garden with the latest and greatest annuals, I want to use the best gear for the job.
In the lab at Gardener’s Supply, we’re currently testing a dozen or more different types of seedstarting pots, trays and specialized propagators. This year’s tests are still underway, but every year, try as we might, we can never get anything to germinate seeds faster and more dependably than the APS system.
APS is an acronym that stands for Accelerated Propagation System. Though it’s a mouthful, the name has proven to be an accurate one. The APS creates an ideal environment for germinating seeds. When you plant seeds in the growing cells, they seem to be overcome with an eagerness to sprout and flourish.
In this year’s tests we’re seeing good results from a couple of other systems, including the Deep-Root Seedstating System, but the APS is still winning, hands down. This doesn’t surprise us, as the APS has garnered more customer love letters than any other product we’ve ever sold (24 years running!). What does surprise us is how difficult it’s been to replicate its success.
If you’re an avid seed starter and would like to share your own results with the APS or any other seedstarting system, please leave us a comment on this post. Thanks!
-Kathy LaLiberte, Director of Gardening
I have a confession to make: Although I work for Gardener's Supply, I don't have a backyard composter. Startling, but true.
All yard waste—and there's a lot of it—is thrown directly into the bed of my truck. From there, I bring it to the Intervale Center, which is just down the road. It's a huge, compost-making facility that accepts yard waste from the region. The only problem is, what to do with our kitchen waste? That's where the Biobags come in.
Dinner prep in progress, with the Biobag close at hand, right by the cutting board. |
When I start making dinner, I put a Biobag on the counter, rolling the edges a bit to make it stay open. You can even use it to line a mixing bowl. All the trimmings go into the bag. After the prep is done, I tie off the bag and place it by the front door. In the morning, I take the bag to the restaurant that my partner owns, where it gets tossed into the compost dumpster. Eventually, it ends up at the same location as my yard waste: Intervale Compost. The bag is 100 percent biodegradable, so there's nothing left to rinse out or clean. It's just gone. For me, the key to being a diligent composter is finding a way to fit it into the flow of daily life, and the Biobag makes it easy.
I've even found that the Biobag can be tucked into a standard kitchen garbage can, where it covers just half of the opening. That way, I can toss regular garbage and collect compostable material at the same time. Another great use for the bags: dog poo. Responsible dog owners are diligent about picking up after their pets, but plastic bags are usually the tool of choice. Biobags are a better option, because they are 100% biodegradable.
-David Grist
Online Content Coordinator
I already have 5 of them. Three old black ones and two more in pistachio green. But I could definitely use a couple more.
Last fall, when I was harvesting the last of the vegetables, I filled my tub trugs with beets and carrots; I used them to transport asters and other plants that I had dug out of the perennial border; I put daffodil bulbs in them (the ones I accidentally dug up when planting tulips); and I always had one of them filled with a mix of peat moss, granular organic fertilizer and compost so I could give a boost to plants that were being divided or moved.
Even though it's winter now, evey one of them is still in use. There are three in the basement filled with acorn squash, glad bulbs and canna lily roots. Another one is filled with worm castings from my worm bin. And the last one holds potting soil for transplanting houseplants.
Last weekend we had some unusually warm weather and I was able to clean up one of the perennial beds that I hadn't dealt with last fall. I was disappointed that there wasn't an extra tub trug around to hold my gear (pruning tools, scissors, gloves, etc.). I like keeping one in the back of my car, too.
So I figure need at least 2 more of the big, 11-gallon size. And now that we're offering two smaller sizes, 3 1/2 gallon and 7 gallon, I'm sure I'll be coming up with a bunch of new uses once spring arrives. Hmmm... will it be purple? Sky blue?
-Kathy LaLiberte, Director of Gardening
The best tomatoes I've ever eaten were grown in Italy and Texas, where the hot sun makes for a high sugar content and lots of rich tomato flavor. So I was surprised to discover that tomatoes are actually native to the Andes of Peru.
Sara McAllister on her deck in Carbondale, Co. |
Sara McAllister probably didn't know that when she set out to grow tomatoes in Carbondale, Colorado, elevation 7000 ft. But when people told her it was nearly impossible to get ripe tomatoes at such a high altitude, she set out to prove them wrong. Sara's been so successful that she now harvests more tomatoes than she can eat, and has plenty left over to can and dry. She even trades some of her harvest with a neighbor for bottles of wine.
"For me", says Sara, "the Tomato Success Kits are the only way to go. I crowd 3 to 4 plants in each container, which means fewer fruit per plant, but overall I get higher production and an earlier harvest." Sara keeps the containers on a sunny deck close to the house. In the spring, she opens the windows right above them and lets the warm air from the house help keep the plants warm overnight. Read more about Sara's high country garden.
Any chance you're using our Tomato Success Kits to grow tomatoes in a challenging location? We'd love to hear your story!
-Kathy LaLiberte, Director of Gardening
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