Place peas, chicken broth, ham bone or hocks, veggies, and bay leaf in the slow cooker and let cook 8 hours on low or until peas have broken down and created a rich, thick broth.
Remove ham bone from soup, cut off any meat and return to the soup. Season with salt and hot sauce as needed. All hams have a different salt content and it's hard to gauge how much you'll need. I usually don't need to add very much at all.
If the soup is too thick stir in water or milk until it's your desired consistency.