How To Grow Peas

How To Grow Peas

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Growing Peas

Growing of pea plants is not a difficult procedure, yet one needs to know the basic facts. Choosing the particular location and the soil type are two important facts.

Location for pea plants

The perfect place to grow pea plants is on the southern exposed slopes. If that is not possible, planting should be done on the most sunny area of the garden. The pH of the soil should be 6.0-6.8. The soil should have adequate water drainage without which the plants would not survive.

Planting of the pea seeds

Prior to placing the seeds, addition of compost to the soil should be done. Do not add nitrogen based fertilizers, as the plants will derive the nitrogen from the atmosphere. In case the soil is too hard to dig up, planting on raised beds is the best option.
The seeds should be added to the soil one month after the last frost. Initiated plants are also available but they are not required as the pea seeds have a rapid rate of germination.

The seeds should be sown an inch deep within the soil, spaced about 4 inches apart from one another. Some sort of support should be provided for the peas. However small the pea variants may have been sown, the vines will climb upwards. The supports should be used to handle and manage the growing vines.
To reap the maximum benefits of the growing peas, a heat resistant variety of the plants should be sown weeks before planting the first one. Planting another variety 2 months before the first frost is favorable.

Caring and Maintenance of the plants

Plants which have been grown in sandy type of soil require at least an inch of water per week. This dosage should be maintained as the flowers start appearing. The plants need to be nourished with compost tea at least twice during the growth period. Use liquid seaweed alternatively.

Harvesting of the peas

The peas will ripe 3 weeks after the appearance of the first flowers if properly nurtured. The time period will be variable with different varieties. Inoculants can be used on the peas to give them nitrogen by coating the inoculants on the peas. They can be bought from nurseries. However, they are not required, if the garden has been planted previously. If larger pea plants are planted,larger peas should be expected which will require a trellis for the purpose of maintenance.

Prevention of Disease

The pea plants can be infected by various pests and diseases like powdery mildew, fusarium wilt and root rot. Buying of disease resistant varieties is the best method of prevention. Planting prior so that they grow in cool weather is another way of achieving protection keeping the weather in mind.

Hints

There are 3 kinds of peas- The Chinese (or snow), the English or the garden peas and the snap peas. The Chinese pea is harvested when the maximum size of the pods is attained and the pods are eaten with the seeds. In case of the English type, only the seeds are edible. On the maturation of the seeds as well as the pods the Snap seeds are picked up. Both the seeds and the pods can be eaten.

Once the planting and growing of peas is started, one realizes that it isn't as hard as it seems. The large varieties in addition to producing peas also give loads of pretty flowers.


About the Author:
Sadie Hurst is an expert in the field of Home Improvement. She has written various articles on that How To Grow Peas. You can find more information on planting a vegetable garden here: How To Plant Peas



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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