Hurray for a Saturday work party (a 'chantier' in French - congers the image of singing while you work!) at the Joshua Farm! The Joshua Farm is a growing urban farm and CSA that engages and employs neighborhood youth each summer. Kirsten, the farm manager, invited folks for a pea planting party on St. Patrick's day, which, thanks to rain and melt, was postponed until this gloriously sunny Saturday.
Kirsten writes: "We planted two varieties of sugar snap peas; in a few weeks we’ll plant some shell peas and some snow peas. Peas are unique for at least two reasons: they are the first seeds to be planted in the ground (at least here at Joshua Farm), and they are one of the few seeds we actually plant by hand (instead of using a seeder). We plant 1 lb. per 75 feet, which is denser than some recommend, but it’s worked for us. We also inoculate the seeds with a beneficial bacteria (rhizobium legumasaurum or something like that) that helps the plants utilize nutrients better (particularly improving the uptake of nitrogen) and thus improving yields.
"I have this terribly unoriginal idea that I’ll take a picture from this spot each week as a measure of growth. I suppose each day would be better, then I could stream them all together on animoto or something, but that sounds like a lot of work. If a watched pot never boils, then maybe a watched seed never sprouts?"
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