It also helps shade the plants’ roots and keep them cool. Planting in wide rows allows the pea plants to cling together and support each other. Organic matter added to the soil during garden preparation will help loosen clay soils and help retain moisture in sandy soils. The critical period for moisture is during pod set and development. Always water plants sufficiently to moisten the soil to a depth of 6 inches, as light sprinklings will encourage shallow rooting of the plants. Peas should be watered in the early morning so that the foliage will be dry before dark. In the absence of adequate rainfall, water the garden to provide an even supply of moisture to the pea crop. Do not over-fertilize with nitrogen as it will reduce pea pod production. If a soil test has not been taken, make a preplanting application of 5-10-10 fertilizer at 3 pounds per 100 square feet. Follow the results of a soil test to maintain a soil pH between 6.0 and 6.5 and optimal fertility levels. Information on soil testing is available in the fact sheet HGIC 1652, Soil Testing. Snow or sugar peas – Snowbird, Oregon Sugar Pod II, Dwarf Gray SugarĪ soil test is always the best method of determining the fertilization needs of the crop.Edible-podded peas, snap – Super Sugar Snap, Sugar Sprint, Early Snap.Big, Maestro, Wando (heat tolerant), Lincoln (heat tolerant) Erect the support system before or immediately after planting seeds to avoid disturbing the roots of germinating and established plants. Pea brush consists of branched shrub prunings inserted into the row for support of the climbing pea plants. Pea plants, even dwarf varieties, benefit from some type of support, so provide netting, trellis, wires, or pea brush for the tendrils to cling to. The bacteria can be purchased as a wettable powder that is applied to the moistened seed before planting, or in a granular form that is applied over the seeds in the row. To increase the numbers of these helpful bacteria, especially in newly planted ground, pea seeds can be treated with Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viceae. Peas are legumes and use Rhizobium bacteria that live in nodules along the root system to take up nitrogen from the air and convert it to a useable form. Regardless of row type planted, space rows 2 feet apart. The width of a hoe blade makes a convenient row width for garden peas. A wide row ranges between 6 and 18 inches in width, with the seeds broadcast in the row rather than sown in straight lines. A single row consists of seeds sown in a straight line, whereas a double row consists of a set of 2 single rows spaced 2 to 4 inches apart. Sow pea seeds 1 to 1½ inches deep and 1 to 2 inches apart in single, double, or wide rows. Piedmont: Abbeville, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Chesterfield, Edgefield, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Marlboro, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Saluda, Spartanburg, Union, and York Counties.Ĭoastal Plain: Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Florence, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Lee, Lexington, Marion, Orangeburg, Richland, Sumter, and Williamsburg Counties. Plant in full sun to ensure maximum flavor and sugar content. Early and mid-season varieties are recommended for South Carolina. The plants suffer in the heat and humidity of summer, so plant pea seeds as early in spring as the ground can be worked. Garden peas are cool-weather plants that can withstand frosts and light freezes, although the blossoms cannot. Wrinkled-seeded varieties of peas generally are sweeter than smooth-seeded varieties and are preferred for home use. Edible-podded peas take two forms, the full-podded snap pea with large seeds and the flat-podded snow or sugar pea with undeveloped seeds. English peas are shelled and only the seed eaten, whereas edible-podded peas are eaten whole. Garden peas ( Pisum sativum L.) are cool-season crops that include the common green English pea and the edible-podded pea. Garden peas ( Pisum sativum) are cool-season crops.īarbara H.
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