Wow, peas in March! Here, it’s just the start of pea-planting season. I’m doing a germination test on 2012 shell peas before planting. It’s been a long time since sweet shell peas were grown here. Fava beans got planted a couple days ago, about a 35 foot row; they’re always hit or miss. Lately, due to much higher temperatures, they get sterilized by the heat. Still, good for the soil, but a small consolation. Time to plant Agretti, Salsola soda, before it warms up!
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Here are “our” 2021 Aji Amarillo seedlings. They are about three weeks old. I hope I didn’t wait too long to start them. Last years plant is making new growth in the greenhouse, and the three year old scotch bonnet hardly skipped a beat.
Shrinkrap, sounds like the Aji were started just a little late, but not bad for your region. Once the weather permits, I’d get the older one outside, before it gets hot. Bees should help pollinate them. Ideally, they flower and fruit between 64–77 degrees F, which is cool for peppers.
So Scotch bonnets can get to a ripe old age!
My first harvest of “Creasy Greens” (Barbarea verna) happened a few days ago. I grow it as a managed weed, spreading seed around the garden, on bare ground, during the summer. Then, it’s left to fend for itself. By March, there’s usually too much to harvest it all, and I leave the biggest, healthiest plants to set seed.
It’s got an unusual taste, somewhere between watercress and radish. A little bit is good in salad, but most of it gets cooked. I freeze dried over a gallon of cooked greens yesterday.
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Looks like I didn’t include a picture of the aji seedlings which are actually 4 weeks old, and in desperate need of being potted up. This was a few days ago, in an aerogarden.
And today.
The little guys are a rocotillo and maybe another aji .
I usually do the “double cup” thing when I pot up peppers. I don’t know what the white stuff is, and my seedlings are quite a bit bigger, with lots more roots.
Obviously not a “blinded” control study, but over the years, I am still impressed by both the aerogarden and the double cup, assuming making a living is not a priority.
My double cups in April 2019
I have not been quite as ambitious since then.
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Adorable!
I’m going to have to get an aerogarden when I get home, I think… but are you saying you can’t actually leave the plants in there?
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Those Aji look great! Strong stems, good color, you definitely didn’t wait too long. I started some a while back for friends, and they’re quite a bit smaller. I’m really curious how your older ones do this spring.
Since I’m cutting back on peppers, due to soil disease issues, the only ones I’m starting for myself are an Aji (C. baccatum) relative “Sugar Rush Peach”, some sort of modern cross, and a C. chinense Aji Charapita, tiny firebombs originally from the jungle areas of Peru. Aji Charapita does great in our hot and humid summers. The only rub is getting the seeds out for hot sauce, and the time it takes to pick all these pea-sized peppers.
The Aerogarden is very stylish! The company has put a lot of thought in the products. The indoor growing under lights trend has grown dramatically with the arrival of LED plant lights. I did some consulting for Babylon Micro-Farms, before they moved to Richmond, VA; cool operation.
The system out here is very “country”, LOL! Last year, it was lights suspended from stepladders. This year, I may upgrade to putting proper eye bolts in the ceiling and dropping small chains for the lights. Fortunately, it’s mostly out of sight!
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Progressing apace. Peppers (anaheim, baklouti), tomatoes (pink berkeley, sungold, bloody butcher), eggplant (rosita), basil, cinnamon basil, thyme, oregano, cilantro. Depending on the weather, I’ll start hardening off in about three weeks. I direct sowed kale, mustard greens, little gem, leeks, chard and parsley on the balcony - waiting for some action out there.
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@small_h, aren’t you on a balcony in Manhattan? When can you start putting things outside? My daughter just moved to a place with a balcony in Queens and wants to put some plants out.
There are probably a few things you can leave in there; maybe some herbs, but certainly not pepper plants. I actually have two aerogardens, and the second one has an insert for starting seedlings, which is how I use them.
This is the insert for the “Bounty” model.
I also have a table top light set over a heating mat that I use for tomatoes and peppers that grow more quickly,
Like this
and a three tier light thing on wheels in my garage, when the plants are bigger and the temperature in the garage is right.
Like this.
And now a greenhouse.
I do NOT need that many vegetable seedlings. I’m sure it’s a little crazy, but just a little.
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Everything but the cukes (they are wusses) will be out full time by May 1. I start with an hour outside on 4/15 or so and gradually lengthen to full day and then overnight. The direct sow stuff is already planted - mustard came up today, and the chives (perennials) came up a couple of weeks ago. We’re zone 6, so your daughter can just google “when to plant X in zone 6” and get a pretty decent answer.
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Thanks! Very helpful.
But I have to dial back my enthusiasm - I need maybe one of each type of plant!
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My gosh- they look so bloody HEALTHY! Our soil is not so good, and it’s so bloody hot and dry, lovely young plants like that would shrivel up and die when hit by the late spring sun- which is what it is right now. We can grow a lot of stuff, but it doesn’t look nearly that pretty.
Well, we can grow SOME stuff. Plant beauty envy
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I feel you @ewsflash, and thank you. I am full of myself until about May 1st, but within a week, it is 100 degrees, and there us no promise of rain for months, I’m wrangling with irrigation tubing and timers and thinking “WTH was I thinking?”
Keep in mind that I don’t grow much at all in the ground. Other than Mediterranean stuff that work in clay on a slope, everything is in containers, most in sub-irrigation, AND on twice daily drip.
But March is glorious. From my bedroom window.
The burned areas are largely greened up.
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What a glorious view to wake to every day.
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Spring has finally sprung here in Zone 7a (Hudson Valley)! All of my perennials (rhubarb, elderberry, gooseberry, blackberry, raspberry, blueberry) are leafing out and my garlic plants are going nuts, with 2-3" of growth in the last week or so! My ramps broke ground this week as well, and the perennial herbs are showing signs of life. I started peppers and annual herbs in February, but didn’t get great germination - not sure if my seeds are old or my starting medium not ideal. I planted a few more pods last week so we’ll see what happens - I may end up supplementing with a few starter plants, but I should have enough basil, etc. by the time the second set comes up. I’ll think about starting outdoor things (like pumpkins, carrots, etc.) next week - our last frost date is around April 15 so I have to be cautious.
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Oh my gosh- you live in paradise
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@ewsflash, when it’s not on fire, sometimes I think so, but I have lived in a few NYC outer boroughs, DC, and LA, and they have their places in my heart as well. My brother calls it The Ponderosa. I DO appreciate my privilege. ( That’s largely for my daughter 
)
We don’t have many local restaurants I would share pictures of, but eat great Mexican and Thai, and we are near Napa and San Francisco, so there is that.
And it is what my husband calls “Africa hot” May until September.
Here are today’s peas. I think Sugar Daddy, Sugar Bon, Sugar Ann, not in that order. I seed in November, usually they over “winter”, but they don’t last long.
After stringing.
Soon I hope to make…
Or
Or
This is my first year with intentional pea shoots, (thank you @bogman), so maybe
Or maybe this one. I have lots of preserved Meyer lemons, and I need to make room for more.
Is this humble-bragging? I think it might be.
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I really love to sauté sugar snaps, asparagus and shelled peas together. Really nice flavors. I cut the asparagus on an angle into manageable pieces. One of my fav veg combos. Really beautiful peas you grew, and I’m envious!
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@Lambchop, that sounds better! There is always something greener! Even though I pulled strings and very briefly blanched, there were some tough bits. 
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Lovely pea crop! If you get very hot weather in May, no wonder the peas don’t last! But, if you can get a month out of them, that’s about all they’ll last anyway.
Here, the day’s “Hi” is forecast for 48 F and tonight is 27. Peas are just sprouting out of the soil, along with favas. Seems like your season is two months ahead of VA!
Those recipes sure look enticing!
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Brag away! My first two tries at snow peas were disastrous… so much respect for you bounty!
My third try has survived, though the yield is tiny… I am accumulating them to have a bowlful soon 
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