Sowing peas is a typical species of the genus pea and the most common and famous in it. Cultivate it for different purposes. There are several cultivar groups of culture, some are divided into subspecies. It is easy to grow peas if you create optimal conditions and ensure proper care.
Seed peas have self-pollinating flowers
Peas
The yield of peas can reach 4 kg per square meter
Description of the culture, characteristics, application
Sowing peas is an annual crop. This is a grassy climbing plant with the following characteristics:
- height - usually 0.5 m, can reach 2 m;
- beans are called pods, the length of which can be 2.5-12 cm, width - 1-2.5 cm;
- one bean may contain 2-10 seeds;
- seeds - peas, the shape is spherical or slightly compressed;
- flowers are self-pollinating, usually white, less often - pinkish or purple;
- ripening period - 30-120 days;
- fruiting - up to 40 days;
- productivity depends on the variety, can reach 4 kg per square meter.
Peas are cultivated mainly as a feed and food plant. It is eaten fresh, added to salads and soups, stewed with other vegetables, boiled mashed potatoes (pea porridge, peas). In addition to seeds, scapulae (sash pods) are consumed. The culture is used to produce cereals and flour.
As a forage crop, peas are grown in many countries. It is popular due to its high protein content, it can be a food base or an addition to daily diet.
Sowing peas is an excellent green manure, that is, green manure. It enriches the soil with nitrogen, improves its structure.
The culture is also used in folk medicine. Its grass (leaves, stems), collected before flowering, is a good diuretic. From the seeds, you can prepare an oil infusion to restore damaged skin and mucous membranes. A decoction of seeds is useful in diabetes, kidney stone disease.
Varietal groups and varieties
According to their purpose, 3 main cultivar groups of sowing peas are distinguished.
Sugar peas
This variety group got its name because of its higher sugar content, which provides peas with a sweetish taste. Such peas are tasty in fresh form, well suited for preservation, used for dishes with heat treatment. Not only peas are suitable for food, but also pods. They do not have a parchment layer, and the juiciness is preserved until the end of the wax ripeness.
Sugar peas are dessert or soup. The first is good in fresh form, used to make side dishes and contains more protein. The best varieties are:
Soup peas are used for making soups, it is characterized by smaller sizes of peas. Great varieties are:
Peas
This sorting group is used in the food industry. Another area of its application is interesting - the production of bioplastics. Starch is obtained from peeling peas, which serves as a renewable source of biomass.
For eating, the following are considered the best varieties:
Brain pea
This kind of culture is used mainly for conservation. At home, it is used in food at the stage of wax ripeness.
Among the brain varieties are considered the best:
Growing conditions
Sowing peas are cultivated in different regions, but he still prefers a temperate climate. For growing peas, certain conditions are needed:
- sunny area, shading the culture does not tolerate well;
- open and well ventilated place;
- remoteness of groundwater;
- the soil is light and fertile, preferably loamy, neutral or slightly acidic;
- good aeration;
- correct predecessors - almost all cultures, except for representatives of the legume family, preferably cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkin, cucumbers;
- germination of seeds requires a temperature of 1-2 degrees, vegetative organs begin to form at 12-16 degrees, and generative - at 16-20 degrees;
- bean growth and seed filling occurs at 16-22 degrees;
- peas do not like heat, at a temperature of 25 degrees its growth slows down, at 35 degrees and above it stops;
- Do not return peas to their original place for at least 4 years.
Not only the predecessors of the pea are important, but also the crops grown in the neighborhood. He gets along well with potatoes, tomatoes, radishes, radishes, lettuce, corn, sunflowers, strawberries. They can even be planted on the same bed. The proximity of seed peas to plants of the onion family, watercress, dill, fennel and basil should be excluded.
If the soil is acidic, then you need to add lime. Enough 0.35-0.4 kg of substance per square meter.
The soil for planting peas needs to be prepared in the fall. When digging, you need to make organic - per 1 square. m to 6 kg of fertilizer. In the spring, loosening the site is required. At the same time, it is effective to add ash.
Fresh manure cannot be used to fertilize the plot, otherwise the green mass will grow rapidly, and flowering and fruit formation will slow down.
Landing
Peas are planted in early spring. It is recommended to do this when the soil warms up to 4-6 degrees. Short-term frosts are not terrible for the culture; it will survive the temperature well to -6 degrees.
Landing is carried out according to the following algorithm:
- Culling. It is necessary to slightly salt the water and lower the seeds into it. Throw out the emerged specimens, since they will not give seedlings. Rinse the remaining seeds with clean water.
- Soaking seed. Do this to improve germination. Soak the seeds for 12 hours. Water should be at room temperature, it should be changed every 3 hours.
- Bed preparation. After loosening, no more than 8 hours should pass before planting, otherwise the earth will dry out.
- Planting culture. It is convenient to do this in the holes, deepening the seeds by 4-6 cm. The planting pattern depends on the variety of sown peas. Usually between rows 25-30 cm is left, and between adjacent plants 10 cm. Some varieties give peas up to 2 m high, in this case the distance between rows and neighboring plants should be 70 cm.
- Sprinkling seeds. Tamp the soil slightly so that it retains moisture better.
Seeds of peas can become prey for birds, so it is recommended to arrange shelter. You can use a film, net, branch, grass, straw.
Crop care
Peas are unpretentious. Caring for it should be comprehensive, but all of its steps are quite simple.
Watering
It is necessary to water the crop 1 time per week, in the heat of watering, take up to 1 time in 5 days. Before flowering and fruiting, peas need more moisture, so it should be watered 2-3 times a week. Be sure to consider the condition of the soil and the weather.
For watering, you need to use a watering can with a fine mesh. An excellent option is a drip irrigation system.
With insufficient watering, the yield decreases, as the flowers and ovaries fall.
Weeding and cultivation
Weed vegetation slows down the growth of crops, so weed beds need to be regularly. Plant residues should be removed immediately.
Loosening should be carried out after watering and heavy rains - this provides good aeration. Loosen only aisles, acting carefully.
Supports
For peas sowing organize support or trellis. Such a measure is not necessary for low-growing varieties, but it should not be ignored. The support provides uniform exposure to sunlight, therefore, ripening will be correct. Without supports, it will be dark and damp under the plants - these are excellent conditions for diseases and slugs.
Top dressing
On fertile soil, sowing peas can be grown without fertilizing, but in autumn the beds should be properly prepared. Depleted soil is useful to water herbal infusion.
Before flowering, potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are useful. For 10 l of water, you can add 10 g of potassium salt and superphosphate. Repeat this feeding should be every 2 weeks.
Pest and Disease Control
More often, peas are suffering from fungal diseases. It is necessary to fight them with the corresponding fungicides (Fundazol, Topaz, Ridomil). For prevention, early crop sowing, fungicidal treatment of seeds and crops, and burning of plant debris are required.
Of the pests, pea moths, caryopsis and aphids are more common. The latter is also a carrier of viruses. Insects must be controlled with insecticides (Operkot, Borey, Break), you can also resort to folk remedies (spraying with infusions of onion husks, dandelion leaves, garlic, celandine, burdock).
For prevention, you need:
- burn plant debris;
- digging the soil deep in the fall;
- plant the crop as early as possible.
Harvesting and storage
The optimal time for harvesting should be focused on the maturity of a particular variety. Collect peas in pieces as they ripen. Pods must be torn carefully so as not to damage the stem.
Harvested crops can be harvested in different ways. For some time, the pods can be stored in a cool place or refrigerator to use for food.
For long-term storage, peas can be preserved, frozen, dried. They are frozen in one layer, and then poured into one bag or container so that the mass does not freeze. Sugar varieties can be frozen with whole pods if they are not overripe. Peas are dried in an oven or in a ventilated room, for inaccessibility to pests, it is better to place dried raw materials in sealed containers.
Sowing peas is an unpretentious annual crop used in various fields. It is important to determine the main purpose of cultivating the crop in order to choose the right variety group and the best variety from it. Proper care of the crop will provide a good harvest.