Sugar snap peas and strawberries growing (Best soil for sugar snap peas and strawberries)

Grow garden sugar snap peas and strawberries in mulching cultivation. This time, we’re preparing the soil for sugar snap peas and strawberries. (Best soil for sugar snap peas and strawberries.) We grow a compact climber variety of sugar snap peas that reaches a height of about 80cm (32 inches). We cultivate a variety of strawberries called “Houkou-wase".

Preparing soil for sugar snap peas and strawberries

Both sugar snap peas and strawberries are grown outdoors and overwintered. I think the harvest time for sugar snap peas will be around early April next year. I’m thinking that for strawberries, the harvest season will start around late April next year.

The size of the cultivation plots is the same for both sugar snap peas and strawberries, approximately 60cm x 60cm (2 feet x 2 feet).

The cultivation plots for sugar snap peas and strawberries

The fertilizer for sugar snap peas and strawberries (Best soil for sugar snap peas and strawberries)

The base fertilizer for strawberries consists of 1 liter (1 qt) of cattle manure compost and 50cc (1.76 oz) of chicken manure. We only use 1 liter (1 qt) of cattle manure compost for sugar snap peas because putting in too much fertilizer can sometimes prevent the snap pea pods from forming. Best soil for sugar snap peas.

Fertilizer for strawberry cultivation
We use cattle manure compost for sugar snap pea cultivation

We spread the fertilizer for sugar snap peas and strawberries in their respective plots and mix it with the soil.

We mix the fertilizer for sugar snap peas and strawberries with the soil

How to make the bed for sugar snap peas and strawberries

After adding fertilizer to the sugar snap pea and strawberry plots, the next step is “making the bed". We surround the bed with wooden boards and fill them with soil inside.

Put the scattered soil back into the bed
Shape the sugar snap pea and strawberry bed with a boards

Simply piling up the soil may cause the ridges to collapse, so we firm up the edges.

As a tip for making the sugar snap pea and strawberry bed, use a trowel to press the edges of the bed and make it slightly compacted. If you press the edges of the bed, you can maintain the shape of the bed.

Edge of the bed
Press down with trowel to make edge firm

We level the top surface of the bed. If the surface of the bed is uneven, rainwater and such may splash, potentially causing diseases in sugar snap peas and strawberries.

Make the top of the bed flat
The bed shape is complete

Afterward, cover the snap pea and strawberry bed with black polythene mulch, and secure the mulch with mulch pins. Mulching is a traditional method for making the growing snap peas and strawberries healthy. Mulch will keep the soil moist and the plants clean. Your snap pea and strawberry bed is complete.

We put mulch on the bed of sugar snap peas and strawberries
The best soil for sugar snap peas and strawberries is completed

Related information on snap pea cultivation(Frequently Asked Questions for growing sugar snap pea)

When do you set up stakes for snap peas? (Timing for setting up stakes for sugar snap peas)

For snap peas, it’s common to set up the stakes around December, when we prepare them to survive winter. But, it’s also okay to set up the stakes earlier. You can put them up when you sow the seeds or at any other time when you have a chance. Snap peas are usually sown in early November, and winter prep is done around late December, so you can set up the stakes anytime between then.

How tall should the stakes for snap peas be? (How long should the stakes for sugar snap peas?)

The best length for snap pea stakes is about 150cm (5 feet). You’ll put about 30cm (1 foot) of the stake into the soil, so the height above the ground will be about 120cm (4 feet).

How do you help snap peas survive through winter? (Cold protection for sugar snap peas)

For cold protection for snap peas, use a non-woven fabric or an insect netting. Attach the non-woven fabric along the stakes to help the plants survive the winter. (Wrap the snap pea plants with the fabric to block the cold air.) Stakes are needed for winter, so if they aren’t set up yet, put them up in advance.

Following is the video for how-to. English subtitles are available.

Sugar snap peas and strawberries growing (Best soil for sugar snap peas and strawberries) – YouTube