256 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



sowing for the spring and summer succession may begin. At first 

 the ridge or raised bed method will give safety against excessive 

 water, but later sowings should be made for flat culture on soil most 

 thoroughly prepared and well cultivated afterwards. 



Field Growth. Where peas are sown for forage or for a crop 

 of dry peas, sowing can be done broadcast on land which has been 

 previously plowed and harrowed, and then the seed is covered with 

 a shallow cross-plowing of the whole field. If the soil is friable 

 and a good condition of moisture, this leaves the surface well loos- 

 ened and able to receive considerable rain without baking. This 

 method answers well on light soils in the interior early in the winter, 

 and the moist condition of the upper coast valleys is also satisfactory. 

 In the upper coast valleys peas can be safely sown as late as May 

 for summer crop and forage. Wherever heat or drought and hard 

 ground are likely to be encountered before the vines cover the 

 ground, drill culture and cultivation are better. 



Peas in the Orchard. It has already been mentioned that the 

 winter growth of peas in the orchard for plowing under for green 

 manure, is gaining some popularity in this state. The pea has the 

 power of appropriating atmospheric nitrogen and its growth in the 

 winter in the warmer parts of the state may be effected with little 

 loss of moisture to the trees. Growing the pea crop in the orchard 

 to be gathered green for canners' use has also been successfully done 

 in this state, where the trees are small. The pea is probably one of 

 the least injurious of the inter-cultures and under certain conditions 

 may be of actual benefit to the trees. For this purpose the crop 

 should be gathered and the green vine plowed in as early as possible. 



No Support for Peas. Peas are chiefly grown as a prostrate 

 crop in California both in garden and field. The preference is for 

 the dwarf or medium high kinds and they are allowed to stand or 

 mat down as they see fit. It better suits a climate where reclining 

 on the ground very rarely induces mildew and where the covering 

 of the ground assists in maintaining the coolness and moisture of 

 soil which delights the pea. 



Varieties. Of the two main divisions of pea varieties, the 

 smooth and the wrinkled skins, the smooth are the more hardy and 

 can be safely grown early. The smooth pea may resist decay and 

 grow where the wrinkled seed will perish. And yet the wrinkled 

 pea is so popular that wrinkled varieties have almost excluded the 

 smooth kinds. 



