Planting Snow Peas

Remember those snow pea seeds I collected back in June? It was then I first started blogging. Now more than 100 blog entries later, I have planted some of those seeds before leaving for Mendocino Woodlands Camp and left them on my new propagation table. I covered the potted seeds with a tray (shown in photo below) to prevent birds and squirrels from eating the seeds.

One morning I forgot to put the tray back down after checking on them. That night I found holes in the soil of cell packs. Some seeds were stolen. I planted a couple more 6-cell packs just in case. In just a couple weeks, the seeds have turned into seedlings. I cleared out the dried up green bean stalks in the the half wine barrel, collected seeds for next summer, and planted the snow pea seedlings into the barrel. This year I am trying something new with planting the snow peas. In the past, I always planted them next to the arbor. This year I am planting them in the wine barrel with a home made cage in the center for the snow peas to climb on. I think this may make picking the peas easier since I can go around the cage and pick them from all directions. We will see in a few months.

Wine Barrel Planters

I just had 5 half wine barrels delivered to the farm. Aren’t they beautiful? You should smell them! I don’t even like the smell of wine or alcohol, but I love the smell of authentic wine barrels. These barrels retired from a local winery recently, but they will now continue on as planters to create more life and food.

Wine barrel planters are new to me. 3 months ago was the first time I was solicited with them. I didn’t know why this guy was trying to sell my permaculture class wine barrels. Later on I saw these half barrels at John’s farm, I then realized what they were for. I got a couple of them to try and wanted to get more. I later on told the guy that he needed to explain what the barrels are for so newbies like me would understand.

I have seen places like OSH and Home Depot selling wine barrel planters. Don’t be fooled by the imitation barrel planters in the stores. They are cheaply made to look like wine barrels, and the stores want to charge you more for them. The real wine barrels are made of oak and quite heavy. You can see the fine workmanship in these oak barrels. A good place to look for them is Craigslist.com under “farm+garden”. They range anywhere from $25 to $50 each. Some people will deliver to you at no extra charge depending on your location. Make sure that the bottoms of the half-barrels have holes for drainage if you are using them as planters. Some sellers will drill the holes for you at no extra charge or you can do it yourself with a drill.


This year I am growing green beans in a half-barrel. The beans are doing great! I will be using these newly acquired barrels for bamboos, herbs, and melons. I’ll be working on the farm this weekend. Can’t wait!