British Columbia: When to plant

Discussion in 'Outdoor Gardening in the Pacific Northwest' started by stuffradio, Feb 16, 2011.

  1. stuffradio

    stuffradio Member

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    Location:
    Maple Ridge, Canada
    Hi,
    When do you guys plant things like Snap peas, etc.? I just checked today and I think my soil is workable. I put a shovel in the ground, when I turned it over it fell off the shovel and kind of crumbled. It's not dry, and it's mostly not mud.
     
  2. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

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    Location:
    Burnaby, Canada
    I usually plant snap peas in March, but only under a cloche. Even that way they have a tendency to rot before they sprout. It's best to pre-sprout pea seeds in a warmer spot before planting them in the ground. Lettuce, spinach, onions, and similar early season vegetables can be planted at the same time. February might also work, but there is more risk that a late cold snap will damage the crop. And you don't gain much because the days are so short and cool in February.
     
  3. Sundrop

    Sundrop Well-Known Member

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    Location:
    Kootenays, BC, Canada
    If the seeds or sprouts rot it is because the soil is cold and at the same time too wet. Cloche will not help with that. Frost alone is not as big a problem with the cold weather crops. A few times late hard frost damaged completely the leaves of my lettuce but the plants always grew back.

    I always plant my cold weather seeds and plant lettuce seedlings as soon as my soil is workable, what in my gardening zone 5a happens in April. Last frost date is about the 25th of May here. I have perfect drainage and my sandy soil is never too wet. Regardless of how cold my soil was I have never had problems with rotting.

    Last year spring came earlier, so I sowed some of my peas in the middle of March. I waited for them to sprout much longer than usual. After sprouting they grew slower than usually. I planted more seeds about three weeks later. All my peas started developing pods at the same time.

    This confirmed to me that there is no real advantage of planting anything earlier, because, as vitog has said, the days are still short and the sun doesn't operate strongly enough. The seeds will take more time to sprout, and the sprouts will grow slower.

    So my advice is, in your area, wait a few more weeks. Or you could make an experiment and sow some seeds now (if you have light soil and good drainage) and the rest later in March, and may be some in April as well, and see for yourself how it works for you.
     
  4. Lysichiton

    Lysichiton Active Member

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    Location:
    Fraser Valley, BC.
    I have had good succes planting peas in the first 2 weeks in March. This is in N. Langley - not far from you. My soil is sandy with lots of compost, so it is well drained.
    I agree with sundrop, rotting has been a problem when I have tried earlier seeding & I suspect too much cold rain. If it looks like it's going to be wet & cold, I shall delay a bit this year. Earlier planting does not result in earlier cropping if it doesn't dry up & warm up a bit in my experience.

    This too much moisture issue really should not come as a surprise to folks close to the mountains in the Fraser valley,eh?
     
  5. stuffradio

    stuffradio Member

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    Location:
    Maple Ridge, Canada
    Thanks for all your replies! I'm trying to figure out what grow light I should get because I want to start Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Peppers next week!
     

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