[Brassica Blaz]

hi all,my lotty nieghbour soaks his peas in water before planting.does this give them a better chance of germination.or just sow them and water them in?.i,ll be starting them next week for the first time so any helpful tips would be gratefully recieved.

[Salmo]

The thing pea seeds do is rot when they get too wet. That is the biggest cause of failure.

If you do decide to soak them then just do it for just a few hours.

Sow them in moist soil but do not water until they emerge above ground. If the soil is very dry water the day before.

[mumofstig]

After much 'encouragement ' from DD I don't soak first, but I do water the drill before the seeds go in
Werks fer me (and him) 

[sowitgrowit]

Good info to have - I knew you were supposed to sow when the soil has dried in the spring and it a little more workable; I would have given them a good watering though after sowing.

I only have a 6-7' x 1.5' border to grow my peas in so I'll flatten the bed down, remove the top inch or so, water thoroughly, then sow (scatter) a few hours later and cover them up... and leave it?

Should I pop something over (a poundland tunnel is in the shed) just in case we get heavy rain to stop the seeds getting soaked and rotting , or should I just let the seeds get on with it after covering them up?

[bigben]

Last year I soaked in water for an hour with a tiny drop of strong chilli sauce in it and seemed to lose non to Mr Mouse. I think the strong taste/smell confused them so they left my peas alone.

[mumofstig]

It's best to cover them with some netting to stop birds eating all the seeds

[sowitgrowit]

It's best to cover them with some netting to stop birds eating all the seeds

Ah yes - should have thought of that really.

We don't have too many birds pecking about where I'm planning to sow the peas (too close to the house, plus we're 100 feet or so from allotments where they look for most of their food it seems).  I'm sure that if they discover peas though they'll be eating them all up regardless of what else is on offer.

I'll get something down to protect them, thanks. 

[Swing Swang]

I soak and pre-germinate my peas.

I feel that they don't get eaten by mice.

Basically a few years ago all my 'dry-sown' peas and beans planted in late winter/early spring got eaten by mice. Since pre-chitting I don't have the problem, now that's very anecdotal, I might be wrong, but it doesn't cost me much in effort and I see no reason to change. I also allows me to check that seeds that I've kept for a few years are viable.

SS

[Trillium]

There's not one true way to do peas. You must adjust to your own growing circumstances, and that can take a few season to perfect.

But you definitely don't want to plant in mucky soil (definite rotting problems).

Both birds and mice will go after peas and pea sprouts. Birds will need netting prevention while mice need another form that you find works for you. I've recently started having thieving mice problems so I found that an old length of tangled netting pegged to the ground over the length of the row really discourages them from digging out the seeds.

I prefer to simply direct seed and then water in well. Now I finish with the netting tangle.

This year I might try soaking for 24 hours, seeding and then putting out my tangle.

[Totty]

It would seem that although most people do things slightly differently, the general thought is that you dont want them to sit in the wet. I always use a spade to pull out a trench a few inches deep (3-4 inches) and line it with an inch of compost (from the compost bin, a growbag or multi purpose is fine, scatter the peas on top then just cover lightly with a little more compost, give it a good soak, then pull the soil back over and leave it until the peas are coming through.
 I hope the compost holds some moisture without it getting waterlogged and gives them a nice easy start.