Chaos, heat, and absolute disrespect: the peas that lived

I have so many peas growing. I thought they were dead. I'm going to record how it goes with these little green babies, and I think if any survive I'll save them to replant next year (and absolutely abuse them too) until I have a landrace that's heat (and rudeness) resistant.

SO, I planted between 70 and 80 peas of various varieties (redundant alliteration, 2 points!) I planted garden variety shelling peas, sugar daddy, and sugar snap. For context I am in currently in northern virginia, zone 7...b? maybe a. Definitely 7. I planted them in plantable/degradable seed start pots, but also in cardboard boxes from my garage with the tape/plastic removed. There was a cold snap in my area where the days were maxing out at 50*f and the nights were juuuust above freezing, but I know peas are strong lil' guys in the cold and I wasn't super worried. By day 10 the weather was much better, days averaging mid 60's, nights in the mid 40's, and I needed my patio table back so I planted the pots and cardboard boxes in my raised beds (stabbed the cardboard boxes on the sides and bottoms to make space for roots and to hopefully get it to break down faster. My gardening method is very much "plant densely and let the plants figure it out. if it dies it dies" but I *was* starting to get worried about my peas.

Absolutely nothing for another 5 days, and the days/nights were getting steadily warmer with no sign of stopping. Assuming we were in for another heat wave when, on sunday I saw the forecast called for 80+ days and 68+ nights, I figured it was going to be too hot too soon for peas this year (again), so I just kinda....pretended they didn't exist. Last time I tried to grow peas, it got so hot so fast that the vines shrivelled up (even with lots of water) and never made a single viable pod after doing their best for a month or two. Very sad vines, only about 4' high. Maybe 3 or 4 flowers per vine, no peas. So i figure this year will be like that right?

So, I turn the cardboard boxes upside down, I don't want them in the raised beds if they arent holding baby peas, but I can use the soil and if there are any seedling peas they'll just die and feed the woil. W/E. Found some bitty baby peas hidden within the soil, but I know they hate transplanting/root disturbances, so I just kind of....ignore them? Stir the soil in (ignore all those white pea tap roots), add some compost, dig little holes and move on to beans.  Two days ago it was 82*. Yesterday it was 80*. Today it was up to 84*. And guess what?

64 little peas are pushing their way out of the soil today. Well, 62. Two got attacked by....something and ended up halfway across the yard. Anyway, Some of these little champions are 4" tall already, and none were there yesterday. I'm sure they'll probably die in the heat, plus now they have to directly compete with all the beans I planted thinking they were all gonna die. And I absolutely disrespected their itty bitty root development and a lot of them probably had to grow upside down from flipping the cardboard boxes over. But if they survive......I'm on my way to a bad@ss, heat resistant, hardy landrace with a can-do attitude that isn't upset by a little (okay a lot) of abuse. I'll update when things progress, I want to see how this goes. It's an experiment!

Nice! It sounds like you were impatient for results. I get that -- I'm hungry to see those little green noses popping up ASAP. Plants have their own rhythm though, and make their own calculations about when to be cautious and when to go great guns.

Lol I was definitely impatient, but I also never thought that if it had been almost 3 weeks there would still be stragglers, let alone most of them! especially after all the crazy temperature fluctuation haha

Had a couple more pop up yesterday. I didn't do a recount, but there are definitely more peas filling in the thin spots!

A big ass dog ran through my peas and beans bed -_- I know this because it was my father's idiot big ass dog. None of the plants seem too squished or dead, but there are MASSIVE holes/compressed spots now, and it's too densely planted for me to want to risk fluffing that back up. Not sure what I'm gonna do about that, but the peas are going great! Biggest first couple set of leave i've ever seen on peas. Almost look like they're trying to bush instead of vine, but I know they're not. Guess they're just thicc

on to day.....I don't know what day it is for the peas now lol
Most of the peas are over 4" high now and in another inch or two I think they'll be ready for a trellis. They're growing slowly, more slowly than I think peas typically do, but none of them are turning yellow or burning or giving up, and we've had 85+ degree days for the past...3 or 4 days? And more to come. Honestly I'm so excited for these little pea babies, it's hot and they're cool weather crops and I treated them horrible and they're still chugging along. If I can get one pod. ONE. POD. out of these little guys I will be so happy, because that's a pea I can plant next year for an even hardier plant (maybe?)

But I am so impressed mostly because not a single one is showing signs of being stressed by the heat, except for growing a little slower than they "should"
I'm not even seeing any pest damage or anything like that, healthy little peas, doing their damndest in weather they are not supposed to succeed in. You go little guys

Peas are still going really well! Most days have been between 75* and 85*, and about 10% of the peas that sprouted have gone the way of the dodo. But the OTHER 90% are still chugging along nicely. There are even a few that are over 12" tall at this point!

I think those will be the ones I save for seeds next year if they go to pod, but very excited I may actually get some peas out of my garden!

What sort of beans did you plant in with the peas Annalea? I'm thinking that vining peas will get along just fine with vining beans...

I'm experimenting this year with planting some of my peas in with my fava beans. I'm hoping that the fava will support the peas a bit and disguise them from the voles, which have been cutting through the pea stems.

Good luck to you and your peas!

I grow fava beans & carlin peas together, but I tend to have shorter faves bean plants & need to put extra pea sticks in. Those sticks also deter the pigeons.

I'm disappointed to get zero apparent germination from the medick seeds I'd collected from the edges of our allotment in the autumn, intended as a leguminous ground cover.  But maybe they'll still surprise me .. ?

For the first time, I've got 4 pinto bean plants, germinated from beans bought to cook: interested to see if they'll grow for me.

The drought in England is starting to look like the start of 1976 ..