What does pea love and what conditions does it need for fruiting?

Biological features

Peas are an annual climbing crop of the legume family. It has long (up to 2,5 m) herbaceous stems with several petioles, on which pinnate leaves are located, ending in branched tendrils. With the help of these tendrils, the plant winds along the support and is held in an upright position.

Pea is a self-pollinating plant. Its flower stalks are formed in the axils of the leaves in 2-3 pieces and are a white or slightly purple corolla with a small groove at the bottom, from which a bivalve bean then grows. Inside the bean there are up to 10 grains – peas of a spherical or slightly flattened shape.

The root system of the plant is taproot with highly branched processes penetrating deep into the soil. In the upper part of the roots, numerous small tubers develop, containing beneficial microorganisms: nitrogenous, nodule and other types of bacteria. Thanks to this property, peas, like all beans, contribute to the enrichment of the soil with useful substances, especially nitrogen, which is in a form available to plants.

An interesting fact: according to calculations, one hectare of land allotted for peas is enriched with nitrogen by about 1,5 kg during its cultivation, which is equivalent to adding 300 kg of manure to this soil.

According to the shape of the bush, peas are divided into ordinary (creeping) and standard. The latter is distinguished by the fact that its peduncles form small inflorescences of 4–7 flowers closer to the top of the shoots, and the stem itself is thickened, strong with small internodes. As a rule, such varieties are distinguished by an early ripening period. Their flowering begins approximately 30 days after sowing, and flower stalks are formed in the axils of 6–9 leaves (in late-ripening varieties, buds form on leaves 12–20).

There are two types of legumes: grain peas and vegetables. Grain is characterized by smooth, large, easily digestible grains, and it is harvested only after the final ripening. Vegetable, in turn, is divided into sugar and peeling. The peeler has a dense parchment layer in the pod. Sugar varieties do not have such a layer, so their grains can be eaten along with the pods. As for the taste, the grains of shelling varieties are more tender and sweet – they are used for conservation and eaten fresh.

Positive and negative factors

Growing this type of legume, in general, is not particularly difficult. If the culture creates the right conditions, then it will delight you with a bountiful harvest. But even in the absence of conditions, you can grow good beans.

Peas are unpretentious plants:

• It is cold-resistant – its seeds are among the first to be sown in early May, when the soil temperature reaches 5–8 ° C, and seedlings easily tolerate spring morning frosts.
• The plant is an ideal green manure due to its ability to accumulate nitrogen compounds in tubers and enrich the soil with them.
• The culture does not have special soil requirements – it can grow in any soil except sandy and heavy clay.
• Planting seeds is carried out directly in the ground, which eliminates the need to grow seedlings.
• Peas do not need nitrogen fertilizers, as they themselves accumulate this element in their tubers and transform it into compounds available to plants.

Like any vegetable crop, peas are a little capricious:

• It does not tolerate fresh fertilizers – top dressing should be applied to the soil in the fall, and best of all a year before the seeds are planted (under the predecessor).
• It is impossible to apply fertilizers in the year of sowing seeds or directly at planting – the plant will go into tops, and flowers and ovaries are not formed.
• You should not plant a crop for two years on the same bed – you can return it to its original place only after 4 years.
• The predecessors of peas can be tuberous vegetables, cabbage, pumpkin, cucumbers, but by no means legumes.
• Culture loves the sun – open areas should be chosen for the beds, where the sun shines intensely for more than half a day.
• If you plant plants in the shade, then you can not wait for the harvest at all, or it will be very small. During the flowering period, the bushes especially need warmth and sun. If at this time a shadow falls on them, the shoots will become long and weak, and flower stalks will not form.
• For a soft, sweetish taste, the culture needs to be fed with potash and phosphorus fertilizers, organics will only harm here (after manure is applied, this type of legume can be planted no earlier than in the second year).

It must be remembered that the yield of peas directly depends on the growing conditions and proper care.

Video “Growing sweet peas”

This video is about how to grow delicious peas in the country. You will learn the intricacies of choosing varieties and planting dates, get advice on growing pea seedlings.

Pest Control

Since pea shoots appear very early, the plant often becomes a bait for pests.

One of his worst enemies is the pea codling moth, it is also called the caryopsis. This is an insect that hibernates in the ground and forms cocoons there, from which butterflies fly out when it gets warmer. The period of departure of these butterflies coincides with the flowering of peas, which is a particular threat to the culture.

Butterflies lay their larvae (and sometimes there are at least 200 of them) on flowers, stems and leaves of plants. After a few days, the larvae turn into small caterpillars that easily crawl into inflorescences, ovaries and stay there until peas are formed. Then they eat the entire contents of the pod, and there is no more hope for a harvest.

Gardeners fight the codling moth by spraying the bushes with an infusion of garlic or tomato tops. To get garlic infusion, you need to chop 20–30 g of garlic, pour 10 liters of species and leave for a day. Then the infusion is filtered and used for spraying. To prepare tomato infusion, you need to pour 3 kg of tomato tops with 10 liters of water, and also insist for a day. These same infusions are effective against such a pest as aphids.

Often, pea plantings are exposed to powdery mildew. To combat this scourge, you can spray the bed with thistle infusion – this is a field weed that is often used as an organic fertilizer or as a pesticide. Sow thistle infusion is prepared similarly to garlic and tomato: 300 g of grass (preferably leaves) is poured with a bucket of water and insisted for a day. Spray the bushes once a week. As a rule, after the second spraying, the plants return to their previous state.

No less damage to pea planting is caused by birds. Since peas are sown very early, its grains become a real delicacy for them. Birds constantly fly to the garden and monitor the crops. As soon as they find at least one grain, they will begin to look for and peck out the rest. Some birds, for example, jackdaws peck out even young sprouts. Therefore, the bed should be covered with dry branches or a special net that blocks birds from accessing the ground.

Care

Caring for peas does not cause much trouble. All he needs at the initial stage is the shelter of seedlings, timely weeding and watering, and later regular harvesting.

As already mentioned, after sowing the seeds, the bed must be sheltered from birds. To do this, you can use any materials at hand: dry branches, a piece of metal mesh, a simple fishing net.

Irrigation is carried out in a different mode. Before flowering, the bed is watered no more than once a week, and then taking into account the weather. During flowering, you need to ensure that the soil is always moist and not allowed to dry out. During this period, watering should be intensive: approximately 1 l / 10 sq. meter.

Watering can be combined with top dressing: to 10 liters of water intended for irrigation, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of nitroammophoska. After watering, the soil must be loosened. It can also be mulched, which eliminates the need for frequent loosening.

When the beans grow to a height of 15–20 cm, they must be spudded. This procedure helps to increase the stability of the bushes – they will not fall down. At about the same time, you need to install a support, otherwise the plants will intertwine with each other, form a shadow, which will affect flowering and yield. If there is no rain, the shoots can be periodically sprayed with water – this will prolong the flowering period, and, accordingly, increase the yield.

The harvest period is quite extended, and takes an average of 1-1,5 months. Early varieties bloom 30 days after sowing, and about a week later, young grains grow, which are especially tasty. From this point on, you need to collect beans at intervals of once every 1-2 days, since they appear very quickly.

If the goal of growing a crop is not green beans, but mature ones, then you need to leave the pods on the bush until they are fully ripe, wait until they turn yellow and dry. After this, the bushes are cut at the root, collected in bunches and hung up for final ripening.

Video “Pyramid for peas”

This video will introduce you to the idea of ​​building a pyramid to support peas.