Growing a Vegetables in Southern Utah is Tricky 

If you have tried to grow a garden in the St. George area, you know it can be a frustrating experience. Some years you get tons of tomatoes and then nothing the next. Cucumbers and potatoes often don’t make it through the early heat.  

I used to plant peas in mid-February to try and get them ripe before the heat comes in late May. That was until my neighbor, who seems to grow her garden effortlessly, gave me some advice. She said to plant my peas on Halloween or soon after. 

How Did It Work? 

I have now taken her advice for two years in a row and the results were fantastic. I plant my peas during the week of Halloween. It is still warm enough that the peas begin to grow, and they are small plants when the cold comes in December. 

It seems like the frosty weather is going to take out these little plants and they start to look like they aren’t going to make it. All the way through January and into February the pea plants stay the same size, and they don’t look very good. 

Read More: Plant Copper: Will This Really Make Your Utah Garden Grow?

I keep watering them throughout with just a drip that runs every other day. When the sun starts to warm the dirt around President’s Day, suddenly these little bedraggled plants take off. Soon they are climbing the wire and by March and April I am getting tons of pods. 

Give it a try this year. That is, if you can find any peas for sale at the nurseries. Of course, you can always order a packet or two online. It seems counterintuitive to plant peas in late fall, but then gardening in Southern Utah is kind of like that. 

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Gallery Credit: Elle Cabrera

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