|
Soil type
Peas like a site that enjoys full sun most of the time, and prefer a pH from about 6.0 to 7.0. The soil should drain well, and should have compost worked into it in the winter months. Avoid fertilizers that are high in nitrogen because peas capture nitrogen from the air through their leaves. The beds should be raised to help give more drainage or if your soil is heavy since peas prefer light, well drained soils. There are different types of peas, some have only the peas eaten, some can be eaten with the shells at maturity and some types can be eaten with the shells before maturity, and only the seeds at maturity. Whatever type you choose, they all have a quick germination period.
Planting the Peas
The peas can be sown directly into the garden as soon as the soil can be worked about five weeks before the last expected frost. Place the seeds about 3cm deep, about 10cm apart into rows that are about 1m apart. To help you have straight rows a string can be used as guidance pulled tense from one end of the row to the other end. Make sure you give the peas something they can climb on, usually you can build a small fence with chicken wire, or use climbing guides from a gardening center. Guide the young plants towards the support structure as soon as they are starting to develop long enough shoots to climb. This will keep the vines free from dirt and too much moisture, which will cause the pea plants to rot. Water the peas after planting and keep them moist, but make sure you don't over-water the plants. They don't like too moist conditions. But once the plants start to grow, give them some extra water since the plant development will need more moisture at this point in time. The peas will be ready for harvest about three weeks after you see the first few flowers. The plants should be fertilized about once a month with any fertilizer with a low nitrogen content.
Harvest and Storing
The peas are ready for harvest depending on the type of pea you chose to sow in your garden. They should be harvested when mature but not tough and stringy. Don't harvest all of them at the same time, since individual plants might mature earlier or later depending on the growing positions. You should be able to harvest peas for about one to two months depending on when the peas are mature. If there is a chance of frost, pick off all the peas before that time. If you want to store the peas during the winter, blanch them in 10 liters of boiling water with about 1 tablespoon of salt. Then drain the peas and store them in airtight zip-lock freezer bags and date the bags. The peas can be kept for at least a year from the freezing time and can be defrosted and cooked in the same way as fresh peas.
|
| |
