A seasoned gardener is providing useful information on how to get the freshest snap peas this fall.
Gardening can be difficult, and spending all the time and effort just to see your hard work go to waste is very disheartening. Tips and tricks like this smart hack will increase your odds of enjoying a successful garden and a bountiful harvest.
The scoop
The video begins with the narrator of the TikTok channel, The Cottage Peach (@thecottagepeach), telling viewers that "this is the secret to getting your snap peas to pop up in half the time."
@thecottagepeach You shouldn't have to wait any longer than absolutely necessary to harvest fresh snap peas 🫛 from your garden this fall with this gardening tip! #snappeas #growingpeas #fallgardenprep #gardeninghack ♬ original sound - The Cottage Peach
With regard to planting this popular vegetable, The Cottage Peach explains that "if you let your snap pea seeds soak in water overnight before you plant them, you'll see sprouts much sooner and lose less seeds to poor germination."
How it's helping
There are a lot of positives to social media posts that show us hacks like this one.
Not only does it present gardeners with an easier and more efficient way to grow their own food, but it may also encourage homeowners, who do not already do so, to adopt similar practices.
And this is good for both people and the planet.
For people, growing our own produce saves us money in the long term, whether we're growing peas, broccoli, or tomatoes.
According to Investopedia, "One pound of organic tomatoes from Whole Foods costs, as of July 2021, $2.99, but a package of organic, heirloom tomato seeds, which can yield multiple tomato plants over time, costs $3.99."
For a little bit of context, it may be helpful to know that one tomato plant can produce around 10 to 30 pounds of tomatoes. So while you have to put in the time and effort to grow the tomato plants, it could cost you $30 to $90 to get the same number of tomatoes at Whole Foods as it would spending $4 on a package of seeds.
It also saves us a trip to the store when we can simply pick the foods we grow from our own backyards.
Also, it's good to know that foods like peas bought from the store are often canned. Studies have shown that canned and packaged foods can have a range of chemical contaminants, including metals, which can affect our health.
For the planet, many fruits and vegetables from the supermarket are often wrapped in plastic. Around 40 million tons of plastic are produced each year in the U.S., according to Statista, and only about 5% of it gets recycled. Much of this plastic ends up in our oceans, which is harmful to aquatic animals.
Having our food emerge from the soil in our own backyard helps avoid all these problems, while saving a few bucks.
What everyone's saying
One commenter wrote how they "like to germinate inside" and then they "layer wet paper towels and seeds, close up and put in [a] dark cabinet [for a] week!"
The Cottage Peach responded, "This method had the seed germinated in three days so a bit faster and less steps."
"Did this trick and they popped up in 3 days! The packet says 7-15," another person expressed.
Another viewer who apparently followed the gardening advice above admitted that "this works super well."
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