Even though we are flooded with cucumbers and I see a hoard of green tomatoes ready to be ripe, I can’t help but feel sad that the snow peas are over with for the season. Every time I’m in the backyard I look at the browning peas with pity, as if somehow I’ve done them wrong by letting them die in the midsummer heat. I know this happens every year, and I know they are cool weather crops that die off when the temps start climbing above 80* everyday. Yet still, I long for a longer harvest and those sweet little treats year round.
Snow peas from the garden in June.
Snow peas aren’t generally something grown inside, although neither is a lot of the odd seeds I try growing indoors. After growing them outside for two years now, I have a handle on how fast they grow and how much space they take up. I also doubled checked to make sure they will self-pollinate, which they do, so no problems there. I see no reason snow peas couldn’t be grown indoors if given proper space and trellis, so we are giving it a go. Since there won’t be any ground cherries or echinacea growing in the big tub we put upstairs any time soon (still waiting for cherries to sprout and echinacea seeds to germinate), I planted a few snow pea seeds in there. When they start to sprout, I’ll put the trellis in place.
Just in case it doesn’t work out indoors, I have a backup plan in place. This plan might be a bit more tricky, as it’s not something I’ve ever attempted before. I’ve heard of fall gardens and planting for fall harvests, but our weather is a gamble. Here in Iowa, we never know when frost is going to hit. It could be as early as September or as late as December. That doesn’t leave us a whole lot of wiggle room for harvesting. Nevertheless, I’m actually attempting it this year with the snow peas. I plan to start them indoors and transplant them outside once our temps drop to a more bearable temperature. I’m hoping by late August or early September it will be below 80 on average and no lower than 30s at night. Snow peas can handle some frost or cold temperatures, but not a lot.
I believe between the two methods (indoors and fall planting) we should have at least a few pea plants that thrive. What do you plant outdoors in the fall? Do you have a longer growing season that allows you to plant more fall crops?
The Urban Ladybug 