Planting Peas

Planting Peas

Peas are highin food value and rich in vitamins A, the Bgroup and C. It is of very ancient origin beinggrown and used by the ancient Greeks andRomans. The Garden Pea is very sensitive toheat and thrives only in cool weather. In theSouth it is grown during the fall and winter andin the North in the spring. In the North lateplantings for maturity in the fall are seldomsatisfactory. In hot weather growth is retarded,insects and diseases are a problem, pollinationis poor resulting in pods with few, if any,seeds.

Varieties

The many listed varieties of peas are classi-fied as dwarf or tall, smooth or wrinkle seeded,and edible podded. Recommended dwarf sortsare 'Alaska' (smooth-seeded), 'Little Marvel',`Laxtonian' and 'Progress'. Tall varieties areTreezonia' and 'Alderman'. 'Wanda', 24-30 in.plant, is the most resistant variety to heat.Edible podded peas of excellent quality are`Mammoth Melting Sugar', 50-60 in. plant, and`Dwarf Gray Sugar', 26-32 in. plant.

Soils and Fertilizers

Peas can be grown in a variety of soil types.For very early planting a sandy or silt loam ispreferred, but for a later planting a well-drainedclay loam is ideal because of its cooler tempera-ture. The soil reaction for acidity should testfrom 6.o to 6.5 pH.

If manure is used it must be well rotted orelse worked into the soil in the previous fall.The Pea is a legume and, consequently, absorbsnitrogen from the air. This is of relatively littleimportance with the quick-maturing dwarfvarieties. If manure has been used, broadcast15-2o lbs. per too° sq. ft. of a 5-to-5 com-mercial fertilizer and thoroughly mix into the

soil. If no manure was used, increase thefertilizer application by to lbs. In some cases, itmay be advisable to side dress in bands 2 in.from row with nitrate of soda, 2-3 lbs. per tooft. of row, at the time of pod set. For peas thesoil should be thoroughly prepared and ferti-lized to provide a fine friable seedbed.

Planting

Peas should be planted as early as the soil canbe properly prepared and, therefore, are usuallyone of the first crops planted in the homegarden.While the smooth-seeded sorts such as 'Alaska'will stand lower temperatures than the wrinkledsorts, both must be planted early to obtain agood succession for harvest, e.g. 'Alaska'matures in 55-6o days, 'Little Marvel' and`Laxtonian' in 6o-63, 'Freezonia' 63-65,'Wanda' 7o-72 and 'Alderman' 74-76. Thisprocedure is preferred to several successionplantings of t variety.

Dwarf sorts are planted 24-3o in. apartbetween rows and a 2-in. spacing will provide agood stand of plants in the row. Seed should notbe planted deeper than t or II in. For tallvarieties it is a common practice to space therows 3o-36 in. apart and the seeds are plantedin double rows. Make 2 parallel drills 6 in.apart and 4 in. deep. Sow the seed and cover theseed with II in. of soil. Gradually fill the drill asthe plants come up. The object of this doublerow is to provide space between the drills forthe brush or wire trellis needed to support thesetall varieties. It also makes more efficient use ofspace in the garden. The same planting pro-cedure should be used for single row culture.

Supports should be placed at planting timeand may consist of (t) brush, 4-5 ft. high afterthe stems have been pushed into the soil for adistance of 12-18 in. The brush should be well-branched and close enough together to providea ready hold for the pea-vine tendrils. (2) Chickenwire, 4-5 ft. high, stretched as tight as possiblebetween posts placed at 8-to ft. intervals. Theadvantage of chicken wire is that after cleaningit can be rolled up and stored for the next year.Brush is not so easy to obtain and dispose of atthe end of the season.

Cultivation

Peas require sufficient shallow cultivation tocontrol weeds. Where brush or wire trellis isused hand weeding is necessary in the row.Commercial growers use the selective herbicide,Premerge, as a pre- and post-emergence chemicalto control weeds. This is not recommended foruse by the home gardeners.

Harvesting

The pods are hand-picked when the seeds are beginning to fill out the pods. Quality in peas isassociated with tenderness and high sugarcontent. During maturity of the seed the sugarcontent decreases rapidly with an increase instarch. Fully matured pods will contain peasthat are tough and flat in flavor. Peas that areharvested at peak quality and then exposed for4-5 hours to high temperatures, 75° F. plus,will also lose their sweetness and tendertexture.

Insects

Pea aphid, a rather large green plant louse,sucks the juice first from the growing tip buteventually from the entire plant. It can becontrolled by dusting with malathion, Diazinonor dimethoate. Do not feed treated foliage tocattle. Pea weevil is brownish with white, blackand gray markings. Adults feed on blossomsand larvae burrow into green seed which aremost troublesome in western states. Control byparathion spray using 8% emulsion concentrate,+ pt. or 2% emulsion concentrate 1 pt. per toogal. Use parathion with caution. Do not applylater than to days before harvest.

Diseases

Powdery mildew, a fungus, most seriousduring hot, humid weather, which forms adense white or grayish coating on the leaves.Dusting with sulfur-lime gives fair control.Root rots caused by several different fungiwhich live over in the soil are frequently seriousin reducing the stand of plants. The basiccontrol lies in crop rotation, planting in well-drained and aerated soils and possibly treatingthe seed prior to planting with Spergon orArasan. Wilt is another fungus disease commonto peas and is soil borne. Infected plants showa downward curling of the leaves, a wiltedappearance resulting in stunted growth. Controlis same as for root rot.

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