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Planting peas. One of the most important
and popular food crops in this country—thrive on any good garden
soil, but require a lot of seed, space, and time. Peas are a cool-weather
crop, sensitive to heat, late plantings giving low yields or failing if
the spring temperatures rise rapidly. Harvest the pods as soon as they
appear to be well filled but before the colour begins to fade with maturity.
Peas are best to eat when picked a few days
before the seeds have become fully grown. Tall varieties need a support,
such as brush or trellis. Brush supports consist of small tree or shrub
branches, 3 or 4 feet high, stuck straight up in the ground along the
rows. Trellises about 3 feet high, built of heavy string or light stakes,
may be used. Alaska is an early, hardy variety, grown widely in America.
Laxton Progress, Little Marvel, and Hundredfold are good early varieties
with wrinkled seeds.
Stratagem is a late dwarf variety having
a good yield under favourable conditions; it needs a long, cool growing
season. Alderman (Telephone) is an excellent late variety requiring brush
or trellis. Early tall varieties include World Record and Thomas Laxton.
Plant tall peas in rows 2 feet apart, with the plants set z inch apart,
in the rows. Rows of dwarf peas should be spaced 18 inches apart, with
the plants r inch apart in each row. Cover the seeds to a depth of 1 1/2
inches. A pound of seed will suffice for 100 feet of row.
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