I am Zone 5. The average first frost date is Oct. 8. When is the best time for me to plant snap peas for fall harvest? I've tried for a fall crop before and I think it is still too hot when I planted. Any help would be appreciated.
Here is an article that might help: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/fall-vegetable-gardening.htm
Can I plant peas after the first hard frost so they won't germinate and then cover them with a thick hay mulch for early spring germination?
Yes, you can do this. This article has more information about that:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/preseeding-vegetables.htm
If I sprinkled sulphate of ammonia on small bales of pea straw and watered it well, would this assist the breaking down process of the pea straw when it is on the garden?
Yes, sulphate of ammonia will speed the composting of pea straw. Fresh lawn clippings will do the same thing. The following link is to a forum discussing sulphate of ammonia in composting: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/soil/msg031010382356.html
Can someone give me a suggestion please to the kind of pea seed to purchase to planting, growing, and freezing. Thank you.
This is a difficult question to answer. Any suggestion would be based on many factors: your preference of pea (shelled, edible pod, snow), soil type, zone, ect. Ask gardening friends which pea they think performs best in your area.
Do you have to remove the pea pods from sweet peas as they continue to grow?
"Deadhead spent flowers and remove seedpods to promote re-bloom. Caution – sweet pea pods are not edible, they are poisonous if ingested. " Taken from this link: http://ext100.wsu.edu/clark/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2014/02/SweetPeas.pdf
I have a 3 short rows of lady peas. They are producing lots of vines and runners. They just do not seem to be producing very many blooms.
You probably have too much nitrogen in the soil. You can 'sweeten' it up with lime. Too much nitrogen grows beautiful, lush, green plants with minimum yield.
The following link will take you to a page of articles on the subject: http://www.google.com/cse?cx=012078378210706707791%3Af1h5n_k1r5e&ie=UTF-8&q=too+much+nitrogen&oq=&gs_l=#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=too%20much%20nitrogen&gsc.page=1
Are the following type peas pole or bush? California blackeye Pinkeye purple hull Cream pea 40 Zipper cream pea Contendra pea
California blackeye--Bush, Pinkeye purple hull--Bush type, Cream pea 40--Both Pole and Bush available, Zipper cream pea--Bush, but Pole may also be available, Contendra pea--(not familiar with) Do you mean Contender? These are available as Pole beans, though bush may also be available