peas rising to the top

[JRinPA]

I planted....sugar sprint snap peas a couple weeks ago. Maybe 10 days. I dibbled about 3/4" deep, into good worked bed. Put the pea in, then pulled some soil back over so the pea is just 3/4 deep, top of it at 1/3" deep. Then I put a 1/2" layer of shredded leaves down.

It rained the next day, and a day or two after that I found some peas on the surface. Made some finger holes and pushed them back in.

Have not looked since. Now a week or so later, it rained 3-1/2" in the last two days. I look and there are a whole bunch of sprouted peas on the surface. Just the root sprouted, no leaves. So I took a few minutes and put them back in with finger dibbles.

QUESTION, so is it the rain doing this? Or is it birds pulling them up?

I know birds can pull up corn sprouts and onion sets. But do they do peas, with no leaf up? Or are they just floating up due to rain?

[MissS]

Since they weren't eaten, I tend to think that it is the rain that is washing them up.

[Hornad]

I planted mine 1 1/2 inchs deep and they rose up to 1/2 inch deep so it might be that the roots also push them up

[Moth1992]

Mine push up when they sprout

[WoodSprite]

Sounds like frost heave.

[JRinPA]

Hasn't frozen though.

If you put peas in a jar of water, they sink. So...it really shouldn't be water? Unless some light compost under them buoyed them up when that got drenched. Or the energy of the impact could have eroded the soil I suppose.

Some of the peas were UPHILL from the rows. 6" toward the center of the bed, which is an inch or two higher.

It hasn't rain to speak of since I reset them, checked yesterday, more were out; I reset again. Today, more were out. I don't know. I put agribon over it this afternoon. I should have reset them all again but didn't feel like it. I'll just rely on them to put their root down themselves.

I did plant them more shallowly than usual. Sometimes I think they end up too deep. So I had bet on it not freezing for a bit, and didn't cover with an inch of compost. Just back scratched some and put shredded leaves over them.

I think it is robins looking for worms. There are plenty of worms there. When they are digging worms they displace some peas, maybe feel them and dig them on purpose just to be disappointed. Over and over. Bird brained. Some of the piles were a dozens of pea, and I plant them 2" in the row, 4 rows, about 4-5" wide. Close as I can dibble.

Water makes sense too but it didn't rain for a bit. Maybe they are pole vaulting out on the roots, too. Maybe a mix of all the above.

[crunch1224]

Last year I planted a 35 foot row of sugar snap peas down my fence line in the garden, and when they were about 4-5 inches tall a damn mole decided to run under them in a straight line all the way down the row almost. By the time I caught on to what happened a lot of the plants were looking bad. I went down the row pushing the plant and soil down to get the roots back into contact with the soil, but I ended up loosing about 1/3 of the row.

I think your loose soil with the rain drove the peas up. If it was a bird you wouldn't find the pea, it would just be gone.

[JRinPA]

Is that what that pup is for, mole patrol?

[crunch1224]

Is that what that pup is for, mole patrol?

LoL She does infact patrol the garden and protects the plants. She keeps all the animals out of the garden and loves every minute of it lol. Last year I had a little visitor in my garden and my pup was going insane, so I walked over to see what all the commotion was about and it was a box turtle. She was pawing at it and barking so I made her stop and leave it alone. Eventually it popped its head out and proceeded to eat the cherry tomatoes that fell on the ground. I let that lil guy live in my garden all season long and eventually my pup made friends with it and left it alone. I hope that lil guy makes back to my garden this year, it was fun having it around.

[JRinPA]

I remember the first time my first springer came across a box turtle. Sniff, shimmy, looked up at me? Don't ask me, I don't know what it smells like.