Started by Denise Clark
Mar 1, 2025
Mar 1, 2025
1
Ask a Gardener Peas & Onions
Mar 1, 2025
Welcome to the Locavores newest project: Ask A Gardener. Twice a month through the growing season we will introduce two vegetables, one herb and one companion plant.
You will find tried and true reference links from locals. You can also post your gardening questions here, and knowledgeable gardens and farmers will respond. Remember this is a new project, so may take a little while to catch on.
Since there’s not a lot going on in our gardens right now, it makes more sense to post recipes, nutritional facts, etc. when the plants are ready to harvest.
Instead, we thought this would be a good time to introduce what Still Light Farm is up to:
'Over at Still Light Farm we have taken on the nursery work previously done by Diane Dear and Todd Goldsmith of T&D Farms. Now in our second year, we’re growing vegetable and herb starts for Sunset Builders Supply, as well as the San Juan Islands Food Hub and local farmers.
The greenhouse tables are filling up at Still Light Farm with the first vegetable starts of the season. Among the starts headed to Sunset Builders Supply in early March is Opal Creek, a standout snap pea from our 2024 on-farm pea trials. Sweet and juicy pods are a stunning pale yellow and produce prolifically throughout the spring. Opal Creek will be accompanied by Sugar Ann (a dwarf snap pea), the classic Sugar Snap, Oregon Giant (a snow pea), and Green Arrow, a shelling pea that was another favorite from last year’s trials. Onions have been growing steadily since late January. We grow our onions in 4” pots with many plants to a pot. Onions don’t mind a little root disturbance and we recommend treating them like bareroot plants, gently untangling them from one another and planting them singly or in pairs for smaller onions. Varieties this year include Walla Walla (a sweet onion), Rossa di Milano (a red onion), Newburg (a yellow onion), and two shallots, Ed’s Red and Zébrune Shallot-Onion. The onions are seeded very early in the season so they can size up properly and there is a finite supply, so grab them early. Leeks and green onions have a longer planting season and will be around for most of the year.'
How to Grow: Onions:
Difficulty- Easy. Scallions can certainly be grown in containers, but bulbing onions and scallions should be grown out in the garden.
Timing: Transplanting is preferred for home gardeners. Sow 3 seeds in each cell and transplant as a clump, spacing each 6” apart. Seeds will emerge in 6-12 days, depending on soil temperature. Start sweet onions first, indoors in winter for transplanting after April 21st. Storage onions and shallots can be treated the same way or direct sown in early April. Allow the seedlings 60 days in the nursery stage.
Sowing: Sow fresh seeds ½-1” deep. If starting indoors, seedlings can be trimmed with scissors once they are about 3-6” tall. This will help to prevent them from falling over.
Soil: Plant in full sun in well-drained soil. Apply lime three weeks prior to sowing or transplanting if the pH is 6.0 or lower. Be sure to plant just the roots and white portion, while leaving the green leaves exposed.
Fertilize: Dig plenty of finished compost into the onion bed. Manure can be used, but it should be dug into the bed the previous season. Apply ½-1 cup of complete organic fertilizer beneath every 10’ of row.
More instructions: https://www.westcoastseeds.com/blogs/wcs-academy/about-onions
How to grow Peas:
Difficulty: Easy. All types of peas can be started indoors right now for an early start. The best time to plant peas in Washington outdoors is in early spring, just after the last frost, when the soil temperature has warmed to at least 45°F.
Timing: You can sow anytime from late winter, right through to early summer.
Sowing: Sow the seeds into plug trays, dropping in two seeds per cell. Begin by filling trays with an all-purpose potting mix, pushing the mix right down into each cell to ensure a good fill. Then make depressions into the potting mix with your finger, and sow your pea seeds. Peas started off in plug trays, pots or toilet paper holders should be set about 3in apart. Once you’re done, cover them over and give them a thorough water to really soak the potting mix through.
Transplanting: Peas are cold-tolerant, but remember to harden them off before transplanting outside. Plant them in a single or double row, so light can reach all of the plants.
Peas don’t like root damage, so if you started yours off in a tray, very carefully tease apart chunks of the tray before planting them into a shallow trench. Toilet tissue tubes can be planted directly, which avoids root damage. Make sure your supports are in place already.
More information from Debby Hatch: https://lopezislandkitchengardens.com/2011/07/18/sugar-snap-peas/
Many local farmers refer to this link for planting dates. Scroll down on this site and find the Coastal PNW Vegetable Planting Chart. https://www.westcoastseeds.com/blogs/regional-planting-charts?srsltid=AfmBOor81VaiXtQHqs32J80zuNiGeZC0MekCW08FTFnQt5Rl2dgUoSY7
During these troubling times it’s possible our food security might be challenged, so please consider growing extra for the Grow a Row. Much thanks!!
You will find tried and true reference links from locals. You can also post your gardening questions here, and knowledgeable gardens and farmers will respond. Remember this is a new project, so may take a little while to catch on.
Since there’s not a lot going on in our gardens right now, it makes more sense to post recipes, nutritional facts, etc. when the plants are ready to harvest.
Instead, we thought this would be a good time to introduce what Still Light Farm is up to:
'Over at Still Light Farm we have taken on the nursery work previously done by Diane Dear and Todd Goldsmith of T&D Farms. Now in our second year, we’re growing vegetable and herb starts for Sunset Builders Supply, as well as the San Juan Islands Food Hub and local farmers.
The greenhouse tables are filling up at Still Light Farm with the first vegetable starts of the season. Among the starts headed to Sunset Builders Supply in early March is Opal Creek, a standout snap pea from our 2024 on-farm pea trials. Sweet and juicy pods are a stunning pale yellow and produce prolifically throughout the spring. Opal Creek will be accompanied by Sugar Ann (a dwarf snap pea), the classic Sugar Snap, Oregon Giant (a snow pea), and Green Arrow, a shelling pea that was another favorite from last year’s trials. Onions have been growing steadily since late January. We grow our onions in 4” pots with many plants to a pot. Onions don’t mind a little root disturbance and we recommend treating them like bareroot plants, gently untangling them from one another and planting them singly or in pairs for smaller onions. Varieties this year include Walla Walla (a sweet onion), Rossa di Milano (a red onion), Newburg (a yellow onion), and two shallots, Ed’s Red and Zébrune Shallot-Onion. The onions are seeded very early in the season so they can size up properly and there is a finite supply, so grab them early. Leeks and green onions have a longer planting season and will be around for most of the year.'
How to Grow: Onions:
Difficulty- Easy. Scallions can certainly be grown in containers, but bulbing onions and scallions should be grown out in the garden.
Timing: Transplanting is preferred for home gardeners. Sow 3 seeds in each cell and transplant as a clump, spacing each 6” apart. Seeds will emerge in 6-12 days, depending on soil temperature. Start sweet onions first, indoors in winter for transplanting after April 21st. Storage onions and shallots can be treated the same way or direct sown in early April. Allow the seedlings 60 days in the nursery stage.
Sowing: Sow fresh seeds ½-1” deep. If starting indoors, seedlings can be trimmed with scissors once they are about 3-6” tall. This will help to prevent them from falling over.
Soil: Plant in full sun in well-drained soil. Apply lime three weeks prior to sowing or transplanting if the pH is 6.0 or lower. Be sure to plant just the roots and white portion, while leaving the green leaves exposed.
Fertilize: Dig plenty of finished compost into the onion bed. Manure can be used, but it should be dug into the bed the previous season. Apply ½-1 cup of complete organic fertilizer beneath every 10’ of row.
More instructions: https://www.westcoastseeds.com/blogs/wcs-academy/about-onions
How to grow Peas:
Difficulty: Easy. All types of peas can be started indoors right now for an early start. The best time to plant peas in Washington outdoors is in early spring, just after the last frost, when the soil temperature has warmed to at least 45°F.
Timing: You can sow anytime from late winter, right through to early summer.
Sowing: Sow the seeds into plug trays, dropping in two seeds per cell. Begin by filling trays with an all-purpose potting mix, pushing the mix right down into each cell to ensure a good fill. Then make depressions into the potting mix with your finger, and sow your pea seeds. Peas started off in plug trays, pots or toilet paper holders should be set about 3in apart. Once you’re done, cover them over and give them a thorough water to really soak the potting mix through.
Transplanting: Peas are cold-tolerant, but remember to harden them off before transplanting outside. Plant them in a single or double row, so light can reach all of the plants.
Peas don’t like root damage, so if you started yours off in a tray, very carefully tease apart chunks of the tray before planting them into a shallow trench. Toilet tissue tubes can be planted directly, which avoids root damage. Make sure your supports are in place already.
More information from Debby Hatch: https://lopezislandkitchengardens.com/2011/07/18/sugar-snap-peas/
Many local farmers refer to this link for planting dates. Scroll down on this site and find the Coastal PNW Vegetable Planting Chart. https://www.westcoastseeds.com/blogs/regional-planting-charts?srsltid=AfmBOor81VaiXtQHqs32J80zuNiGeZC0MekCW08FTFnQt5Rl2dgUoSY7
During these troubling times it’s possible our food security might be challenged, so please consider growing extra for the Grow a Row. Much thanks!!
Comment by Denise Clark
Mar 24, 2025
Mar 24, 2025
0
Welcome to Lopez Irene, and thank you for posting great ideas! We hope to hear from you again.
If your're here in May, you should check out the Grow a Row at Woodman Hall. It's well received and lot's of really kind people.
If your're here in May, you should check out the Grow a Row at Woodman Hall. It's well received and lot's of really kind people.
Comment by Irene Wood
Mar 22, 2025
Mar 22, 2025
0
Hi fellow gardeners ! My name is Irene and I'm new to this forum. My home base is Fairbanks, Alaska but recently my husband and I have become 'shoulder season' snowbirds to Lopez Island. We love the rural life in both places. Fairbanks has a very active farming community and I've had a modest presence at our Tanana Valley Farmers Market f ... Read All