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Video: Peas All Summer. Planting, Care, Cultivation. Photo
Vegetable crops such as peas can be found in almost every vegetable garden. But what do we know about her? The fact that it belongs to legumes tends to accumulate nitrogen on its nodules, loves to cling to supports with its antennae … And, perhaps, that's all! However, this culture is not as primitive as it seems at first glance, and therefore it is worth not only growing peas, but also experimenting with them.
What are peas?
Considering peas, it is worth noting that this is an annual plant with a simple or branching stem capable of reaching a length of up to 250 cm. Some of its varieties have a bush (or standard) shape, others are lodging. There is also a difference in the shape of the fruits, their size, color. But the most interesting thing, for us, gardeners, is that peas can be husked (also called garden peas), semi - sugar peas and sugar peas (or pods).
Peeling varietiesit is distinguished by the presence of a so-called parchment layer inside the bean, which makes the pod valves rather coarse and unsuitable for food. However, peas of this type burst well, peel easily, have a smooth pea shape, are well stored and therefore are grown for canning and freezing, or simply green peas.
In the sugar varieties parchment layer is absent, the pods are green in the technical maturity, poorly threshed, why are eaten whole. Moreover, the more fleshy the pod leaves, the sweeter the peas. The sweetest of the sugar varieties are dwarf ones, with small shoulder blades and very small peas.
Semi-sugar peas also have a parchment layer, however, it is poorly expressed and is noticeable mainly in fully ripe beans.
In addition, it is good to know that peas are divided into round, wrinkled (cerebral) and transitional by seed shape. The third group is distinguished by a squeezed shape of peas with a wrinkled or smooth surface. Brain peas have the highest sucrose content - up to 9%; it is from it that canned and frozen products of the highest quality are obtained.
There are differences in early maturity and resistance to low temperatures. If you want to get a harvest of peas earlier, you should take a closer look at the ultra-early smooth-grained varieties. They are so resistant to adverse conditions that they can be sown even in February. Moreover, their seedlings appear above the soil surface already at a temperature of +4 - 7 ° С and can withstand frosts down to - 6 ° С.
If there is a desire for the peas to be larger and sweeter, it is necessary to choose varieties of the brain type. They come in a variety of ripening times and can be sown to harvest throughout the summer. In general, peas are divided into superearly, early and varieties of the main and late harvest.
Growing peas
Before talking about how to achieve a harvest of peas for the entire summer period, it is worth remembering that this crop has its own agrotechnical methods for growing.
Preparing for landing
The first one is checking pea seeds. Because legume seeds are susceptible to pest attacks and are often sold damaged, they must be soaked before sowing. This simple technique allows not only to identify non-viable peas, prevents the reproduction of unfavorable "aliens" in your beds, but also stimulates the germination of seed. At the same time, you should not wait for the roots to appear, only healthy pea seeds that have hatched into the ground should be planted, without obvious signs of the presence of pests under the skin.
Planting peas in open ground
Second. Despite the fact that peas are not afraid of cold weather, and some hulling varieties are sown by gardeners in frozen soil, sugar varieties are recommended to be sown into the soil later - with the onset of stable warm weather, often in late April - early May (depending on the climatic zone). But you can not wait for high temperatures, since the seedlings of this culture do not tolerate the heat and upset with a fair amount of loss.
Third. Choose well-lit areas for planting peas. Sowing is carried out according to the principle of a two-line tape, leaving a distance between the tapes of about 50 cm, and between the lines - about 40 cm for sugar varieties and about 20 cm for peeling. At the same time, seeds can be placed in a row quite densely, at a distance of 4 cm, since peas are one of the few plants that benefit from thickening, providing greater plant resistance and some shading of the root system. The seeding depth is 3 cm on heavy soils and up to 5 cm on light soils.
In order to extend the harvest time of peas, firstly, sowing must be done in 10-day increments (until the end of May), secondly, to select varieties with different ripening periods, and thirdly, to ensure culture, timely watering and high-quality mulching, since high temperatures combined with a lack of moisture deplete plants, significantly reducing the size of the pods and the quality of the crop.
Pea care
There are also watering requirements. Peas need moisture the most during the flowering period, so at this time they are watered at least 2 times a week, or even more often, focusing on the weather. Before flowering, watering may be infrequent, but abundant - once every 7 days. After watering and heavy rains, the aisles of the peas must be loosened to enrich the soil with oxygen. And, of course, do not forget about feeding - here the mullein can be the best choice.
Careful plant support also plays an important role in increasing yield. Firstly, it can be provided through thickened plantings, secondly, with the help of neighboring companion crops, and thirdly, it can be provided in the form of special supports made of trellises, branches or twigs. This provides the peas with a natural growth rate and helps them feel comfortable, which affects yields.
And, of course, one more rule. In order for your peas not to inhibit the formation of pods, you need to harvest on time. This can be done with scissors, you can carefully pinch off the pods with your nails, but (!) Without waiting for the pods to fully ripen!
Pea varieties by ripening time
Very early varieties of peas (sown at the end of February - March):
- Dreams, Pioneer (sugar varieties);
- Little Marvel, Feltham First, Meteor, Kelvedon Wonder (smooth-grain peeling varieties).
Early pea varieties
- Ambrosia, Children's Early, Miracle of Calvedon, Oscar (sugar varieties);
- Grasshopper, Onward, Medovik, Hurst Green Shaft, Vera, Early Gribovsky 11 (shelling varieties).
Main harvest pea varieties
- Zhegalova - 112, Sugar 2, Inexhaustible 195, Oregon, Sugar Oregon (sugar grades);
- Alderman Senador, Usatii 5, Khavsky pearl, Moscow delicacy, Winner G-33, Fragment (shelling varieties).
Late varieties of peas (about 90 days before the first harvest, sown very early):
