New gardener, zone 9, near Sacramento

[homesteph]

Hi Everyone,

DH bought our first EB today.  Since our small yard needs grading, and we'll always need to do raised beds since our soil's likely contaminated, he decided to try one EB as a test-run.  Seems expensive, but these forums and videos are such a great resource, that I'm thinking  it may be worth it!

So, I'll try some peas in it, while I start some pepper and tomato seeds. If I can make this one work, and my cats don't eat my seedlings, I may get a few more EBs in about 6 weeks.

Has anyone here tried peas in zone 9 in an EB?

thanks in advance,

-homesteph

[mjb8743]

Hi and welcome!

I'm not really familiar with your zone 9, but I imagine it's pretty warm. Peas are a cold/cool weather crop, so unless your weather is such, you'll be disappointed with them. Once the weather gets hot, they're done in.

On the other hand, if you've been successful doing in-ground gardening, then the EB will be highly successful. Just be sure to set it up exactly per the instructions.

Good luck,
Mickie

[homesteph]

Thanks for the welcome, mjb! 

No real in-ground experience - just one wildly successful buttercup squash that took over the whole back yard thanks to a dripping tap, and some lovely bush beans, but it is hard to fail with either of those. Lots of reading and daydreaming the last few years.

Going to double-check the bag of growing medium we bought before I use it tomorrow.  The nursery that sold us the EB recommended a bag of potting soil, but we went with Greenall Planting Mix that had peat moss in the ingredient list. Not the first ingredient though....

Yep, I know I'm cutting it close with the peas! I chose Wando from Victory Seeds.  They describe it as heat tolerant for a pea, and 64 days to maturity.  We'll get long stretches of triple digits later in the summer, but the last frost date is usually in the first week of April.  I thought maybe I can also move the EB if so it gets a bit of shade at the hottest part of the day. If nothing else, maybe I can eat the pea tendrils as a veggie, like they do in some of the fancy restaurants around here, and consider this "learning experience #1."

[PaulB]

You are SO going to love your earthbox.  Word of warning, though, just like Lay's potato chips slogan, you can't do just one!  They are addictive, because they are so productive, not to mention water-wise.  Welcome to the forum, there is lots of info here, and if you can't find something with the search engine, just ask, we all love to talk, teach (and brag a little).

Not sure about that potting mix, be sure to read the lable carefully, there should be no hint of dirt, soil, or sand in it for the EB use.  I mostly use Miracle Grow potting mix, which is woody and cheap, but my favorite is Fertiloam's Ultimate Potting Mix.  Nice and light, with just the right additives.

There are several EB gardeners in your area, yours will do well there.

[ErnieHodge]

And, if you go to the EB site they list the different potting mixes that work well in the EBs. We're using the Jungle brand and it's working well.

Welcome to the forum,

Ernie

[Wacky Worm Wrangler]

Welcome to the forum Steph. I'm a little south east of you near Yosemite in the real foothills. Peas do very well in EBs. I ordered three more boxes for our Anniversary on Valentine's day. Two will be getting eatable pod types. The third will get the new spinach I ordered this year Regal.
WWW

[homesteph]

PaulB, you are so right, we ordered two more during the free shipping, before my peas even sprouted. And they've sprouted!

Thanks for the encouragement, WWW.  I hope they hop to it now, before it gets too hot.  Weird weather!  Looks like spring sprung, and we finally get some rain, but there's ice on the deck in the morning.  But I'm sure that won't last long. We'll see if Wando peas really are heat tolerant.

[amayzment]

I'm in 8b, so warm like you. I started my peas in mid-January. It may be a bit late for you to just be starting them, but part of the fun with gardening is the experimenting, so just see what happens.

[homesteph]

Update on those Wandos.  Wildly weird weather here, we had a little spring in January, and then winter finally set in in April.  The Wandos are at the top of the EB trellis kit, blooming a bit, and I found my first pod yesterday morning - only 1/4".  A few hours later I showed it to my DH, and it was 1/2"! 

Weather reached 90 today, but highs are backing off a little bit for the rest of the week. I'll probably move the box from the driveway to our raised deck near a tree, for a slightly cooler locale. I may get some peas yet!

[homesteph]

I did eventually get a good amount of Wando peas, in part helped by a few unseasonably cool spells in late spring.  Most didn't make it into the house - the box was by the driveway and we started grabbing them as car-snacks.  I did shell a couple of cups full when it was time to strip the plants -they were dying from the bottom up.  Is that normal when they are done? 


I just re-used the EB for a few cherry tomato stragglers and orphaned pepper plants that were in 1-gallon pots in the shade.  We'll see how they do.  I bet I have 100 frost-free days to go.