by Jennifer Poindexter
What’s a vegetable you love to eat and grow? Peas are probably one of my favorite vegetables. They taste great, are simple to grow, but they do require a little extra work when shelling them. However, if you enjoy their flavor, it’s worth it.
Did you know some gardeners face major challenges when growing this crop? It happens to all of us from time to time. There are some common mistakes people make when growing this crop.
If you’d like to learn from these mistakes, you’re in the right place. I’m going to not only tell you what the mistakes are but also how to solve the issues. Here are some of the top mistakes gardeners make when growing peas.
1. Ignoring Pea Pests and Diseases
There are many pests and diseases that can threaten your pea crop. You must understand what these threats are before you begin growing this crop.
Once your peas are growing, stay alert to any signs of issues forming. The earlier you catch the threat, typically, the easier it is to rectify the situation.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You can avoid this mistake by doing your research about things which could impact peas. When you know what you’re up against, it’s time to ensure you know how to treat potential problems.
Peas can fall prey to cabbage maggots, aphids, spider mites, cutworms, and leaf miners. These issues can be treated with an insecticide.
This crop also faces a variety of diseases. Peas can be impacted by downy mildew, mosaic virus, fusarium wilt, or damping off.
If impacted by downy mildew, increase the airflow surrounding the plant and reduce the amount of water during watering sessions. You can also treat with a fungicide.
To beat fusarium wilt, you must plant varieties which are resistant to this disease. There is no cure for mosaic virus, either.
Finally, damping off impacts seedlings. Ensure you start your seeds in warm soil with adequate lighting. You should water lightly, and sprinkle the soil with cinnamon as it has natural anti-fungal properties.
If your seedlings are impacted by this disease, they won’t recover. Therefore, it’s vital that you head it off before the disease forms. Stay alert to these potential threats, and your pea crop should be well protected in your care.
2. Failing to Amend the Soil for Peas
If you read many gardening articles, you know some of the most repetitive advice is to amend your soil. Yet, some people still don’t amend their soil.
You might be able to get by with this when growing some crops. However, peas probably won’t be one of them.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
Peas have vibrant green leaves on their plant. This is a sign that the plant must have an ample amount of nitrogen.
Unfortunately, many plants need nitrogen to survive. Therefore, there’s a shortage of it in most soil. If you don’t amend your soil with nitrogen rich matter, your pea crop could suffer.
If the foliage of the pea plant begins to lose color and look droopy, this is most likely the issue. Add more nitrogen and hopefully your plant will remain vibrant.
3. Planting Peas Without Adequate Growing Conditions
Another piece of advice many gardeners share is to ensure your plants are started in adequate growing conditions.
Every plant has a set of conditions in which they grow best. If you don’t provide these conditions, you could be setting your peas up for failure.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You can avoid this mistake by supplying the growing conditions that your peas need. Peas do best when grown in full sun and well-draining soil.
It’s vital that the crop isn’t left in consistently soggy conditions because peas are known for developing root rot. By planting them in well-draining soil, it allows the water to reach the roots and quickly drain away from the plant.
4. Not Providing Support to Your Peas
When people grow peas, they forget about supplying their plants with support. This crop looks dainty, but it still needs help.
As peas grow, they start to trail. If you don’t want a messy plant, and pea pods covering the ground, it’s wise to provide a trellis.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You can avoid this mistake by supplying your pea plants with a trellis. It can be a purchased trellis or one made of wire fencing.
Either way, position your plants to where they can grow up something to protect them from receiving moisture in all the wrong places and to keep their appearance neat. It also makes for easier picking.
Even if growing peas in a container, pick a planter that can handle having a small trellis inserted, or place the container in front of the trellis. This will allow you to train the peas to grow up the trellis while still growing in a container.
Take this into consideration when growing peas. It could make all the difference in your growing experience.
5. Not Keeping the Soil Consistently Moist
Moisture seems to be a sticking point for most crops. You must understand what kind of watering each plant requires.
By doing so, you avoid providing too much water. It can also help you ensure you supply enough water to meet the plant’s needs.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
When growing peas, it’s important to know they require consistent moisture. If you provide too much water, the plants will rot. If you fail to supply enough water, the plants will dry up.
How do you provide the balanced amount? It’s best to practice the deep watering method. Water your peas for longer periods of time, fewer days of the week.
This will ensure the roots receive moisture during the initial watering session. However, as time goes on, the roots will dig deeper into the soil to retrieve more water. This makes stronger plants.
Once you know how to apply the water, you should also consider mulching your peas. This will help the plants retain moisture and keep things consistent throughout the growing season.
6. Amending the Soil Too Much for Peas
We’ve already discussed what can happen if you don’t amend your soil properly. Now, it’s time to discuss what happens when you amend your soil too much for this crop.
You should keep your fertilizer in balance when amending your soil. If not, it can have a negative impact on your soil and harvest.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You can avoid this mistake by not applying too much of any one type of fertilizer. Many gardeners apply too much nitrogen to their soil.
The problem with this is your plants will form lush foliage, but you won’t receive any pea pods. Keep everything in balance to ensure your plants are healthy and productive.
7. Planting at the Wrong Times
Peas are a cool-weather crop. They should be planted three weeks prior to your planting zone’s last frost date.
If you live in a warmer climate and want to grow peas in the fall, plant them two months prior to the first frost. Understanding the appropriate planting time, for your region, can make all the difference when growing peas.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You should plant peas during the times mentioned above. If you plant them when the weather is too hot, your plants will become dry and lose their color.
Cool-weather is part of the pea plant’s necessary growing conditions. Meet this need, or your plants could fail to thrive in your garden.
8. Harvesting Peas Too Late
Our final mistake is harvesting too late. As with many things, there’s a window of time to receive the best harvest from your peas.
If you harvest when the pea pods are too small, you won’t receive much for your efforts. If you wait until the pea pods are too large, you’ll miss out on the flavor you were hoping for. Pay attention to these tips to understand the accurate time to harvest peas.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You should harvest peas when the pods are plump. They should also be tender. Be sure to harvest your crop regularly to encourage the plant to keep producing.
If you allow your pea pods to become old, before you harvest them, they’ll have a woody appearance and feel tough. Keep an eye on your plants to ensure you don’t miss the ideal window for harvesting your crop.
Hopefully, this information will help you be better prepared when growing peas. When grown accurately, and harvested timely, homegrown peas are probably one of my favorite crops in the garden.
Not to mention, they produce subtle beauty as they grow. If you’d love to have a vegetable that will start your garden off early each year, let these tips help you introduce peas to your garden.
Learn More About Growing Peas
https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-peas
https://extension.psu.edu/a-gardeners-guide-to-peas
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/homegardening/scene9697.html
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