It’s been a cold, wet spring— making it difficult to get in the garden! I am happy to report that our Homesteader peas are in the ground! This is the first thing that has been direct seeded in our garden this year.
We plant a double row of Homesteader peas (meaning two rows in one— side by side) with the trellis in between. The trellis is actually a 34 inch high x 16 foot long hog panel with 4 steel electric fence posts spaced and welded on as anchors. Here's a pic of each--
We use an Earthway planter for the peas— using the pea plate, which spaces the peas at 3” apart. If you’re planting a single row, a 2” spacing is fine. But since we are planting a double row so close together, the 3” plate is perfect. So quick and easy! Down one side of the row and back up the other.
When we plant our Homesteader peas in our seed plots for seed production vs. the peas in our garden for eating— we needed a cheaper option for a lot more row feet of peas. So we took a 7 foot roll of deer netting and cut it in half for a 3.5 ft trellis. We hook the netting onto a 4-foot black step-in fence post. The end result looks like this--
Again, we plant our rows first, then set the net trellis in between the rows. Finally we provide additional anchoring using the steel electric posts upside down, allowing the anchor fins to provide additional wind support to the netting so it doesn’t flop in the wind so much! Here’s a detail picture from last year’s planting.
After the harvest, we strips the vines off the trellis and pull the steel posts out first. Then we pull up the black step-in posts with the netting still attached (requires at least two people), lay it out on the ground and roll it up-- fence posts and all. Ready for the next season!
Here’s just a short video of this year's garden planting and putting the trellis in place! Enjoy!
There’s never one ‘right way’ to do anything! We love hearing about the ideas and methods that work for you! How do you trellis your peas?
Have a great growing season!
Our best to you,
Theresa & Dan