http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/peas.cfm 

Learn all about peas - the different varieties, how to pick peas, grow peas, eat peas, 

http://parkseed.com/pea-green-arrow/p/05237/ 

A lot of our members work 8 - 5 shifts, Monday - Friday so no worries there.  Once we get into the main garden season (April - October), when there is a lot more light in the evening, we'll offer MANY opportunities to work at night.  Even our greenhouse in Holladay has lights in it, so you can work in there until 10 pm right now if we needed help.  The Gardens are closed on Sunday since all of our gardens belong to private home owners and they have been very generous to let a bunch of strangers work in their gardens Monday - Saturday, so we try to give them at least one day a week without strangers in their backyard.

http://www.heirloomtomatoes.bizland.com/seedstarting.htm

Check out the above link!

During the early season, here in our Holladay Garden headquarters, we are busy growing nearly all of our plants from seed, before planting them in ALL of our 14+ gardens.  The work is all done here in one of our Holladay gardens.

This type of work takes a lot of attention and skill but it's so worth it.  Since we have so many gardens which require a lot of planting in a few months, it will save us a ton of money and it's such a valuable skill to learn how to do.  PLUS you know the entire history of this plant i.e. when the seed was planted, what it was fed, how it was cared for, where it grew, etc.

If you are interested in learning how to grow plants from seed, you should be helping me with this work.

It starts in February and lasts about 3 - 4 months.

Be sure and book a garden work session in Holladay if you want to help me with this work.

See our Garden Calendar for details

If you work this week in the gardens, this is a list of the type of work we are doing:

• Growing seed i.e.  lettuce, broccoli, and other cool season crops in tiny organic containers
• Making the organic containers from newspaper to put the seed in
• Attaching the last of the pea fences
• Planting peas in the ground
• Getting ready to showcase our Community Gardens at Wheeler Farm on Thursday night

Besides the items on this video, there are several things we can use in our gardens that you may not want to throw away quite yet.

Don't bring them to me yet, but in the next few weeks I'll show you on this blog what we do with these items.

• Old newspapers
• Plastic gallon milk or juice containers (rinsed out)
• Half Gallon milk containers - plastic or cardboard, (rinsed out)
• Pint size milk containers - (rinsed out)
• Dryer Lint - keep stashing it in a gallon size plastic ziplock bag
• Plastic water bottles
• 100 % polyester fabric

Why grow your own plants from seed?

• Growing plants from seed is SO much cheaper than purchasing plants from a nursery.
• Growing healthy, strong plants from seed is SO rewarding!   It's a very valuable skill to learn how to do and it takes practice to get it right!  But even growing ONE plant from seed and going through the whole process of transferring it into the garden, watching it grow then harvesting the fruit feels so amazing!  Try it, then if all else fails you can always wait until April or May to buy your plants from a nursery.

Growing plants from seed takes some skill and time.  I like to think of these little seedlings as little babies.  They both need constant attention but they are SO worth it when you see them start to grow and flourish!

• During prosperous times, it's wise to learn how to this since it may be too late if you try to start when you are in the middle of a crisis. 
• During prosperous times, when nurseries are nearby, you can afford to make a mistake and then, if necessary, purchase some plants.

If your family depends on you growing food, they may starve if you don't plan ahead, practice and perfect this skill. 

A few reasons why you should do this.

You will:

• Avoid watering problems
• Avoid shade problems
• Avoid over planting
• Decide which seed to order

When laying out your garden, you should keep these types of plants together since they require similar water attention.

Learn the difference between Cool Season, Intermediate and Deep Rooted Plants and when you should plant them:

COOL season shallow roots  (water twice a week)

These plants love the colder temperatures and can handle some shade better than any other group listed here.

• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Swiss Chard
• Radishes
• Beets
• Carrots
• Potatoes
• Broccoli
• Peas
• Celery
• Cauliflower
• Turnips

Intermediate Root depth  (water about once a week)

These plants are in between the two groups I've already mentioned.

• Beans
• Peppers
• Zucchini
• Cucumbers
• Onions

Deep roots require infrequent watering  (water every 10 – 14 days)

These plants love lots of heat and also require the most sun.

• Fruit Trees
• Grapes
• Watermelon
• Crenshaw
• Cantaloupe
• Pumpkin
• Squash
• Cucumber
• Yams
• Tomatoes
• Corn

NOTE:  ALL crops you grow need FULL sun but because of trees and houses, we can't always give them full sun.  Cool season crops can deal with less sun much better than the deep rooted plants like tomatoes, melons, grapes and fruit trees.

Some reasons why seed may not come up

• Soil gets too dry
• Packed soil or hard crust
• Cold weather, slow germination, seeds rot.
• Fungus diseases i.e. "damping off"
• Cut worms and other insects

• Water

• Air

• Nutrients

• Sun