How to grow Peas?
- Latin Family: Fabaceae
- Latin Genus: Pisum
- Ease of Growing: Easy
- Growing Type: Annual
Peas are members of the Fabaceae and share the most important characteristic of many members of that family. They have a symbiotic relationship with [nitrogen fixing] bacteria that live in nodules on their roots. This makes them important for organic growers, because they can add nitrogen to the soil, rather than taking it out.
Peas are an excellent home garden food crop, and have a delicious flavor that is far better than commercial peas. They can be very productive (especially of edible pods) and even improve the soil they grow in.
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Peas History
This crop originated somewhere in central Asia between about 12,000 and 8,000 years ago and is now cultivated all around the world. In its dry state the pea is a highly nutritious, protein rich food and it was once a staple food of poor Northern European peasants. Presently, peas are more popular in their immature green stage and increasingly as edible green pods.
Soil Preference
- PH (min/max): 5.5 - 7.5
- PH Ideal (min/max): 6.0 - 6.5
The best soil for peas is a loose well-drained [loam]. Peas don't need a lot of nitrogen, as they can obtain their own. In fact, if nitrogen is too easily available they won't bother to fix any. Peas do need phosphorus (colloidal phosphate) and potassium (wood ashes), as well as calcium and magnesium (use dolomitic limestone).
If the soil is compacted [double digging] is beneficial. If it is poorly drained, use raised beds, especially for early plantings, as they don't like wet soil. In very poor soils it may pay to plant your peas in trenches, filled with a mixture of soil and compost.
How to care for Peas?
Peas are cool weather plants, hardy down to 20 degrees F (28 degrees F when flowering). They prefer mild temperatures (60 to 75 degrees F) and don't usually set pods above 80 degrees F. In areas with hot summers they are grown as a spring or fall crop (fall planting presents its own problems however).
As a cool weather spring crop they can be out of the ground by June, leaving time for a warm weather crop to succeed them.
Water
Peas should get about one inch of water per week. In cool spring weather peas will usually get enough water from rainfall so you don't have to irrigate. Watering at this time may encourage mildew and can actually reduce yields. If the soil starts to get dry at any time you must start watering. This is particularly important from the time the flowers appear, as water is needed for pod formation and maturation.
Fertilizer
Low nitrogen. Low potassium. Low phosphorous.
Peas aren't very hungry plants.
Seeds
Seed Viability: 3 - 4 years
Germination Percentage: 80.0
Peas are one of the easiest crops to save seed from. They are self-pollinating, though a small amount of insect pollination may also occur. Isolate varieties by a minimum of 50' for home use. Ideally you will isolate flowering varieties by at least 150 feet. In dry weather all you have to do is leave the pods to mature and dry on the vine. In wet weather you may have to cut the vines and dry them under cover. When the pods are crisp and brown remove the seeds. These should be dried and stored in a cool dry place.
Light
Sun: min. 6 hours daily
Full sun.
Conditions:Cool
Season:Short Season, Long Season
Storage
The best way to store peas for any length of time is to freeze them.
Storage Req: Freezer
Storage Temp: 32°F
Storage Length: 1-180 days
The sugar in peas begins to turn to starch soon after harvesting, so they don’t store well. For this reason they should be used promptly for best flavor. If you have to store them, put them in the fridge in a plastic bag for up to 2 weeks.
Storage Req: Refrigerator
Storage Temp: 35-40°F
Storage Length: 1-14 days
Problems
Slugs and Snails
These are mostly a pest of unsupported plants. They don’t really like Peas very much, but will eat them if there’s nothing better available.
Deer, Rabbit, Groundhog
All of these animals love to eat the young plants and must be kept out with fences or dogs.
Birds and Mice
These can be major pests and have been known to systematically eat whole plantings (birds break off the new sprouts, mice eat the seed in the ground). If mice are a problem there are repellent seed coatings available (kerosene was once commonly used). Netting can keep the plants safe from birds, but it’s a real pain to deal with.
Peas Types
- Petit Pois
- Shelling, Vine
- Snap
- Snow
- Shelling, Bush
Petit pois (French for "little pea") are shell peas harvested when still very small and are wonderfully sweet and tasty. Any shell pea can be grown in this way but these varieties work best.
Peas have been cultivated by humans for anywhere from 8,000 to 12,000 years. Dried Shelling Peas are typically used for soups or stews, and fresh shelled immature peas are good lightly steamed or boiled. Unlike Snow Peas or Snap Peas, their pod is too fibrous to be edible, and the peas themselves must be removed from the shells.
These varieties grow in the familiar vining form and tend to be more productive than the bush types.
A more recently developed edible-podded pea, this one originated in America. The pod is thicker and more succulent than that of the Snow Pea, and less fibrous than standard Shelling Peas. These are now one of the most popular types of pea, because there is no work in shelling and very little waste.
The name snow peas may come from the whitish tint reflected from the pods, or because of their tendency to grow at the end of winter, just before the last spring freeze. As their name suggests, they can be covered with snow during these times, but still keep growing.
The thin crisp pods are nearly translucent and bright green, with tiny seeds. The whole pod is edible and quite sweet when picked at the right time.
Peas have been cultivated by humans for anywhere from 8,000 to 12,000 years. Dried Shelling Peas are typically used for soups or stews, and fresh shelled immature peas are good lightly steamed or boiled. Unlike Snow Peas or Snap Peas, their pod is too fibrous to be edible, and the peas themselves must be removed from the shells.
These varieties grow in a bush form, rather than as the more familiar form on vines.
Pests
- Wireworm
- Birds
- Blister Beetle
- Bean Weevil
- Leafhoppers
- Aphids
- Carrot Beetle
- Cutworms
- Tarnished Plant Bug
- Cucumber Beetle
- Whiteflies
- Armyworms
- Leafminers
- Slugs and snails
- Rabbits
- Rats and Mice
- Gophers
- Deer
Diseases
- Bean Mosaic Virus (BCMV)
- Fusarium Wilt
- Damping Off
- Downy Mildew
- Powdery Mildew
