Concur: Most of North America is not conducive to runner beans (P. coccineus). They need a cool climate with out temp extremes. If you just want green beans, pole beans (P. vulgaris) have a much wider range altho they may have a tough time in the deep south. English peas grow best in the winter in the deep south Have to plan for harvest before temps climb into the 90's to triple digits. Good rule of thumb. Southern Peas and English peas have very different temperature requirements. They don't grow well at the same time. Southern peas like it hot and will sulk until the temps suit them. English peas quit before the temps get high enough for southern peas. Neither are very demanding of soil types so I suspect your major problem is matching Temperature requirements.

Peas like it cool, tomatoes and peppers like it hot. They are not going to do well together at the same time and place. Here we cannot plant hot weather plants until about May, when the soil stays at about 50F or more, but my peas are already in. I put them in a spot that stays cooler, with only morning sun.

Thanks all!

Locations: Central Oklahoma

Yeah. Hot. After I posted I went and watched videos and did some reading, et. al. Quickly realized that I'm not talking about runner beans. Speaking of Kentucky Wonder Pole beans or similar. Sorry, I thot these were the same.

"Neither are very demanding of soil types"

Thanks for confirming that farmerdill. I'm usually pretty keen on soil stuffs (not plant growth, obviously), so I was scratching my head.

It's temperatures. My first attempt was to plant pole beans in mid summer. And after these posts I realize it's the temps. I notice other gardeners, here, are starting their pole beans now and that's what I should do differently - start early.

As for the English peas, snow peas, etc, I got the cool temps down pat. I guess it's the heavy clay. And I wonder, for a couple of seasons of failures, if it just didn't get too hot too quick for them to continue growth.

We did get hot last week and that might explain why my peas in the compost soil didn't take off after 4". And they've been there for... 2 mos now. I'll keep an eye on them this week as we're having cooler temperatures and see if they take off again.

And maybe I should try different pea varieties. I'm just using the regular 'ol store-bought kinds. Snow peas might be a bit too tender for our harsh climate, now that I think about it.

bon

You can also think about late summer planting...count back days to harvest, and figure out how long it will take a pea crop to start producing ...add in several weeks for the harvest and try planting that way...all counties have extension services...they can really hook you up with the best gardeners in your county, and you can learn a lot from them...don't be afraid to stop by a garden and ask...99% of us are happy to share info and seeds...best info you can get is from someone growing in your area, climate, and soil..

For peas they really need partial shade to do well. They wont thrive in full sun. They dont really need good soil, but perhaps a little too much clay could interfere.

As for the leaf mulch trick you have stumbled onto the secret of the year i grew fantastic watermelons here. I had a piece of soil that was hard compacted, dry, and cracked, and nutrient deficient from planting corn in that spot for a few years. One fall and or early spring i put mowed up apple leaves on that spot. As the rain and snow kept them moist until early April and/or May they hard dry cracked soil turned into lush literally smooth-as-butter soil. Literally i could dig in it with a butter knife. The secret was in the natural fertilizer mother nature has given us that most people haul off to the landfill because they have been socialized by their neighbors to remove anything that is unsightly like leaf litter.

The "mold" you are seeing is the second secret. It is actually myceliem a benificial fungus and/or mushroom. This helps spread out the nutrients and create a healthy biome which attracts insects and helps keep in moisture.

Keen, the shade for peas makes sense! The Sweet Peas (ornamental) volunteer every year along the fence line but only where there is dappled shade. Next year I'll try them on the other chain linked fence along the drip line of the trees. (about 4 yards away from the others lol).

We have been very rainy and cloudy for days with the sun peeking out only a few hours every now and then. All the peas, even the wind burnt ones, are taking off. You're right. They need that shade. I didn't realize it until you wrote about it. And it just hit me. I notice the Sweet Peas are not as numerous this year. Last year I cut back the trees along the outside of that fence. I exposed more sun!

I've had excellent luck with the mold in my yard. I adore seeing the mushrooms come up. I kick them with intent of spreading the spores. I've had good luck using hay as mulch. A deep heavy mold begins growing if there is enough water. One year I found morels growing in the garden. At the time I didn't really know what they were! So, I've had many different types of mold growing. I have clay but it is heavy, but dark brown rich with natural organic matter - until I begin gardening. I try not to disturb it any more than I need.

So, the leaves were awesome, but what really struck me was how fast it worked, like you mention. I've done many things over the last three years to soften that clay up, but nothing works that fast. Keeping the leaves moist as if a pile of snow were sitting atop is certainly the key. We've mostly been in drought and even last winter wasn't really a winter at all. I was using the leaves as mulch because I didn't have any hay pn hand. I had hand tilled the bed last fall. I scratched the leaves into the soil so they wouldn't blow away. I watered. And watered. Because we "were" in that drought. It was awful to be watering an empty garden in the middle of winter, but I wanted to help that soil along and bring in the bugs to make my plants happy. Boy, did it ever turn out great!

I have a mandella garden split in 4 quarters. Only one of them has the leaves. The difference between them is huge. I will continue piling leaves on!

We have had a glorious 5-1/2" of rain over the last two weeks or so. I lost half my potatoes, but it's worth it.

thanks
bon