Go together like Peas and Carrots

I always thought of this metaphor in a culinary sense. After doing a little reading about companion planting, I had one of those "Ah ha!" moments. On the companion planting chart, first on the list as compatible to peas...carrots. Maybe this is how the ol' phrase got started. Old gardening wisdom of "who plays nicely together and who doesn't". Kinda like garden astrology, only on a physiological level.

So-we did get those pesky, non-inoculated peas planted. A friend who studied at Clemson advised me that if I could not get my hands on the Rhizobia, to take an 8" core sample of soil from an area where legumes had grown before. I am simplifying his instructions- this works in the interest of keeping things short and sweet. We had grown green beans the previous season in a plot in the original garden..the OG. So...hoping this would count, I sent up a horticultural prayer and dug some samples.

I mixed these up in my wheelbarrow (wheelbarrel?). He said to spread this over the top of the planted pea plots. For good measure, I also rolled the soaked peas around in the dirt before I planted them. Farmer Bo double dug our two pea plots to ready the soil as I dug our core samples and inoculated (fingers crossed).

Double digging is when you dig a shovelful of dirt first, then dig another shovelful in the layer below-loosening this sub soil, then loosening and returning the first shovelful of dirt. It's a lot of work, but really helps the roots of your plantings to easily grow. We also incorporated our amendments-composted cow manure-at this time. Once the plots were ready, it was time to plant.

I spaced them close together, so we could make up for any poor germination. I'll thin them when the time comes-pea sprout salad??? With carrots??? Hmmmmm. My seed packet said to plant the peas an inch deep, so I pushed each one in with my thumb-up to the first knuckle. After I got them all in the ground, I top dressed the plots with my "hopefully-inoculated soil". We shall see...48 days for Cascade and 56 for Knight. Still trying to get a gadget countdown on here...so, for anyone wanting to keep track, March 13th for Cascade. We'll keep you posted.