It’s been a little over a month since I launched multi method pea test and results are coming in! Specifically, I decided to dig up my four indoor planted peas – two of which were inloculated with pea rhizobia, and two others were grown as a contol.

These seedlings looked different almost from the start. Although they both germinated at about the same time, the rhizobia peas have constantly maintained just a little bit more height.

Here are the seedlings on day 6, all four seedlings had sprouted. One each from each pot emerged on day four, and then the second pea from each pot sprouted a couple days later on day 6.

Just 12 days after planting, you can already see that the inoculated peas had a head start.

And a little over a month after planting, the inoculated peas were still taller – though not necessarily bushier. The internet said that nitrifying nodules form pretty quickly, and I could see roots beginning to peek out of my drain holes, so I figured these were far enough along to unpot them.

If I had to make an immediate observation from the visible roots after unpotting these, I might go so far as to say that the inoculated roots are a little thicker and less wispy. Lets see what they look like when I remove the soil!

Removing the soil, I’m definitely comfortable saying that the inoculated roots are a little thicker and less wispy, and also extend further. You can see nodules growing throughout the roots, but mostly close to the main root, and also I found one little nodule on my “non-inoculated” peas. I realize now that I might have contaminated them by watering them together in the same bin.

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Here’s a close up of the nodules. The big bump on the right of each pea shoot is the original seed coat from when I planted these.

So this test was to confirm that inoculated peas grow nodules, and they definitely did!