Saving pea seeds- a low tech method to prevent Pea Weevle damage

Saving Pea Seeds: an updated version of this post can be found here: Saving pea seeds - a low tech method to prevent Pea Weevle damage

Here in the Pacific NW, and in many other parts of the world, varieties of an insect called the Pea Weevil (Sitona lineatus) can destroy the peas you are saving as seed crop. As the peas mature in the pod, the weevil lays an egg in each pea. If you store these pea-seeds as-is, by spring time each one will have a tiny hole bored by the larvae, from the inside out, destroying the seeds' ability to sprout and grow. A year ago, we had a whole stash of our pea seeds destroyed from these weevils and we didn't want it to happen again.

Signs of pea weevils

An on-line search revealed no low-tech solutions for seed-savers. We read about research to create genetically modified seeds (GMO's) and super-cold flash-freezing done with dried ice. The dry-ice idea got Chris to thinking so we decided to experiment. We took our whole stash of pea seed (about six cups) and put it in an air-tight zip-lock bag, in a regular freezer, way in the back corner, and left it there from August to January (four and a half months). The seeds were fully ripe and dry when we put them in the freezer. (There was evidence that the weevils had already laid their eggs as virtually every seed had a small, brown spot--a sign of their entry point.)

Pea weevil cycle

In early January, we conducted a germination test. We wrapped about 50 seeds in a wet paper towel and kept them moist in a dish for five days. At that time, we counted how many had begun to sprout (about 40) which means they have a germination rate of at least 80%. This is excellent! Then, to be sure that there weren't any pea weevil larvae still dormant in our seed stock, we put about 30 in a tightly sealed plastic bag and left them out at room temperature for two weeks to see if any would hatch. None did. Though it appears we have killed the larvae, we're not taking any chances and we're leaving the pea seeds in our freezer till it's time to start plants this spring.

To save pea seeds, grow them to maturity and leave the pods attached to the pea vines until they are starting to turn tan and shrivel. Strip the pods from the vines and place them in a warm, dry place to finish drying (we lay them out on nursery trays on the top shelf of our garden shed for about a week.) Pop the peas out of their pods, place in freezer-bags (properly labeled with variety of seed and date) in the freezer, way in the back (or bottom)--the coldest spot. Leave them there until you're ready to plant next year's cycle.

If you have comments or anything to add to this post, please do so directly below so everyone benefits from your experience.

Healthy Soil - Healthy People - Healthy Planet! Dr. Zach Bush

Hi Folks - The gardens are really growing beautifully now. We're harvesting spring-greens for the S. Benton Food Pantry and our CSA boxes and busily planting out crops - both inside and outside the greenhouses.

This post features a link to a very important video by an amazing doctor, Zach Bush who details the connections between the health of soil and our physical health.

Over the past thirty years, our food system has become increasingly more toxic at the same time that there have been radical increases in many chronic illnesses. It's only reasonable to assume that many of these disease conditions are the result of depleted soils and ever more toxic chemicals in our environment. Many people have become increasingly dependent on the so-called "health-care" industry (which is often more about "disease-care" if you really look at it!) - seeking health through dependence on pharmaceutical drugs and a woefully misinformed medical establishment rather than taking responsibility for healthy life-style choices. 

This video contains important info that you won't find through the main-stream media or from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization or other main-stream health professionals. We hope you'll take the time to watch the video all the way through. We think you will find this info both informative and inspirational.

 LINK to video: Chemical Farming & The Loss of Human Health - Dr. Zach Bush

Dr. Zach Bush (image: below) is as an MD who specializes in internal medicine and endocrinology, who is also an internationally recognized thought leader on the importance of microbiomes when it comes to health, disease, and nutrition. He’s doing remarkable work to save our planet, and he believes that we still have an opportunity to reverse the damage done and create the most verdant, bio-diverse planet to have ever existed. 

Dr Bush says on his site:“My work is dedicated to the health of humanity and the planet we call home. It is critical that our pursuit of optimal health and longevity begin with an effort toward a collective rise in consciousness such that we would begin to thrive within nature, instead of fighting that nature that is life itself.

If you'd like more info, here is a beautifully written post about Dr Bush's work published on the Natural Blaze news aggregate. It features several other video clips as well.

We've begun sending out CSA boxes of early spring greens!

If you're local and would like to increase your family's consumption of organically-grown fruits and veggies, it's not too late to sign up for a CSA membership. LINK

Our food is slow-grown, without the use of any chemicals. Our gardens not only feed our CSA members and volunteers, and serve two food pantries but we provide habitat for much local wildlife as well. 

 

Last year, members' costs averaged out to be about $2.00/pound for some of the finest, freshest organically grown produce around. Our prices haven't risen in three years though the quality and variety of foods we offer has multiplied. For info about our CSA, here is the LINK.

We're not doctors but we do operate a "farm-acy"!