How Do You Presprout Pea Seeds?
Peas are one of the earliest vegetables you can grow because they germinate in cold soil and tolerate late frosts. The only problem is that big pea seeds take awhile to germinate and that makes them prone to rotting in cool, wet spring soils. Presprouting your peas indoors before you plant-and growing them in well-drained soil-is an easy way to increase pea germination rates and improve your yield of tender, tasty, sugary sweet pods. Pour a packet of pea seed into a shallow dish. Sort through the pea seeds and remove any that are broken or cracked. Fill the dish with water until the seeds are covered. Then, wet three layers of paper towels and place them over the seeds. Check the seeds daily for signs of germination. Within a week to 10 days the pea seeds should begin to crack open and small, fleshy roots will emerge. Prepare the garden soil prior to planting the presprouted seeds. Raised beds are ideal because they drain well and warm up more quickly than adjacent soil, but a regular
