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Growing guide

How to Grow Peas

It is easy to see why this early - season craw is a popular garden works . Peas call for little care beyond a trellis and pest protective covering , yet they produce fertile quantity of zippy pod throughout the spring and summer .

Time of Planting

Sow pea alfresco as soon as the soil can be work , but do not inseminate outside when dirt temperatures are below 50 degrees F as germination is erratic and pitiable in cold-blooded stain .

Spacing Requirements

Seeds should be planted at a depth of ½–1 inch and between 2–3 inches apart . distance rows of peas at least 18 column inch apart .

Time to Germination

7 - 14 days

Special Considerations

Pea plants require atrellisto support their climbing habit . Panels of thick wire , such as cattle control board , process well for this purpose . Alternatively , you could set up bamboo trellises or construct a system of chicken wire or string for pea to go up .

Peas do not tolerate drought , excessive temperatures , or waterlogged soil . pea should be grown in an opened , sheltered position on wet - retentive , deep , free - run out soil .

Watch this video to learn how to utilize French Trellising in your garden

Gallic Trellising – Tina Hall , former bulk semen coordinator at Seed Savers Exchange , discusses French trellis tomatoes in this video from the Resilience Gardens video recording serial .

Common Pests and Diseases

cuss plebeian to pea plants admit pea moths , pea thrips , and mouse . Crop covert can aid protect the plants from moths at the peak - bud stage .

When and How to Harvest for Food Consumption

pea plant can be harvest in the snap / green leg , the shelling stagecoach , or the dry stage . Snap peas are ready for crop when the pods are still tender , before the seeds commence to swell up . shell peas are quick when the pods are tender and the seeds are round and plump . teetotal pea are ready for harvest when the pods are dry and brickly and the seeds inside are hard .

Eating

other peas are majuscule for bracing eating while later on peas can be shelled and relish in salads , soup , and stir Christopher Fry . Snap pea and coke peas are often eat whole . dry peas can be cooked like bean and used in soups , stews , and dips . Pea shoot also make a tasty snack .

Storing

Blanch and immobilise pea plant if you would care to store your spring flavors for another day ; function within a year . pea can also be left on the vine to dry . Dry peas will store for several years in a cool , teetotal place .

How to Save Pea Seeds

This crop is a great way to make your first foray into seed rescue as pea bring forth seed the same season as they are implant and are mostly self - cross-pollinate , minimizing the penury to be mindful of preventing cross - pollenation .

Life Cycle

yearly

When saving seminal fluid from pea , disjoined potpourri by 10 - 20 feet .

A individual pea plant plant can produce viable seed . However , to maintain a mixed bag ’s diversity over metre , save seed from 5 - 10 plants .

Assessing Seed Maturity

Pea seeds are quick for harvest when they are gruelling and their pod dry out out and start to call on brown on the vine and shrivel up against the seeds .

Harvesting

If pea plant pod are not completely ironic before the first frost , deplume the plants up , root first , and cling them in a cool , dry location until the pods are brown and ironical . When the pea plant pods are all dry , fall in them open to release the seeds .

Cleaning and Processing

Pick the brown pod from the vine and remove the semen . Separate seeds from the chaff . Seeds will require about six week of atmosphere - drying .

Storage and Viability

Store pea somewhere nerveless , dark , and dry and always keep them in an airtight container to keep out moisture and humidity . Under these conditions , pea seeds can be expect to remain feasible for 3 - 4 years .

Read more about stack away seed .

Saving seeds from legumes

If you ’re interested in getting bulge with seed saving in your garden , legume crop such as beans , soybeans , and pea make it easy . In this webinar we ’ll discourse all the necessary detail , from how your legumes are cross-pollinate to threshing and winnowing after harvest home .

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A green pea pod attached to a green stem, in front of green stems and leaves

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