How To Grow Peas
2011-02-20 at 12:28 pm pshipley
How To Grow Peas
Welcome to our guide on How To Grow Peas. Growing peas is relatively straight forward. Peas are part of the legume family. They are best grown on an open, sunny site, with good drainage. There are different crop types, shelling peas, petit pois, semi-leafless culitvars and mange tout.
There are also two different types of pea seed, round or wrinkled. Round seeded cultivars are hardier, usually earlies, but less sweet. The wrinkle seeded cultivars are less hardy, and not planted before mid-spring. There are dwarf and tall varieties in both types of seed. Generally earlies are dwarf, and maincrops taller and bushier. Peas range in height from 20cm to 2m and grow best in the temperature range of 13-18C.
Pea classification is according to the time taken to reach maturity.
First Earlies – 11-12 weeks.
Second Earlies – 12-13 weeks.
Maincrop – 13-14 weeks.
Soil For Growing Peas
Legumes grow best on deep, organically rich, fertile soil. Peas require an open sunny site, with good drainage and a well worked soil allowing room for free growth. Manuring should be carried out in thr previous Autumn. A soil of pH 7 or slightly alkaline is best, with high nitrogen levels.
Sowing and Growing Peas
Sowing can take place as soon as the soil reaches a temperature of 10C, but germination will be slower. Sow seed in shallow drills, 3cm deep in patches to support each other and 7.5cm apart, or in wide drills apx 30-25cm wide, planting seed 5cm apart each way. Sow fortnightly for successive cropping, or grow different varieties that mature at different rates. Germination usually occurs within 15-20 days.
Use nets to protect your seedlings from birds, until the plants have developed tendrils then support if necessary. Mulching may help to keep roots cool. Water frequently, (apx 22 litres per square metre weekly),and if the soil is poor use nitrogen and phosphate rich fertiliser to aid plants.
Keep an eye out for:-
Birds, and mice can be a problem.
Pea Moth – Maggots in pods or peas.
Pea Thrips – Silver patches on pods and leaves.
Pea Weevil – Holes along the edges of leaves.
Powdery Mildew – Powdery white patches found on leaves.
Downy Mildew – Greyish brown mould on leaves.
Foot Rot Fungus / Black rot fungus – Rotting roots or stems.
Leaf Spot Fungus – Brown patches on leaves or pods.
Mosaic Virus Disease – Green / yellow spots on leaves.
Harvesting and Storing Peas
Knowing how to grow peas and growing peas is one thing but you need to know how and when to harvest and store your peas.
Pick edible podded peas when they are just forming, and shelling / sugar-snap forms when pods have swelled. You can leave edible podded peas to mature and shell normally. All peas are great for freezing (freeze as soon after picking as possible to retain flavour), and some can be dried.
Suggested Pea Varieties
Early – `Feltham First`, `Early Onward`, `Meteor` or `Douce Provence`.
Second Early – `Hurst`s Green Shaft`, `Superb`, or `Lincoln`.
Maincrop – `Cavalier`, `Greensleeves`,`Markana`, or `Alderman`.
Thank you for reading our simple How To Grow Peas guide, why not check out out other vegetable growing guides and articles from the menu on the right side of this page. Good luck growing peas!
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Really nice post,thank you, best website ever
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