Pea

Light and exposure

The pea wants full sun to give well-filled pods. Give it a clear corner, with no cast shade, where it will enjoy the morning light that quickly dries the dew. A position that is too hot and sheltered in high summer plays tricks on it, but in spring that is not the problem here.

What matters most is an airy spot. The climbing varieties climb to a metre fifty and more, the dwarf ones stay low but always benefit from a little staking. A well-exposed, ventilated row limits powdery mildew at the end of the cycle.

Watering

At sowing and during emergence, the cool spring soil is most often enough, without watering. The pea does not like excess water at the start, which rots the seed before it germinates. Let the April rains do the work.

Everything changes from flowering and the formation of the pods. That is when the plant drinks and when watering really counts: a lack of water at this stage gives flat pods and few seeds. Water at the base, regularly, without wetting the foliage so as not to favour powdery mildew in dry, hot weather.

Soil and repotting

The pea requires a cool, loose and well-draining soil. It dreads drought as much as standing water. An ordinary garden soil suits it, provided it is not waterlogged at the time of sowing, otherwise the seeds rot.

Above all, no nitrogen fertiliser. It is a legume: its roots bear nodules that fix nitrogen from the air thanks to bacteria. It therefore feeds itself in nitrogen and even enriches the soil for the following crop. A supply of nitrogen makes it run to leaves at the expense of the pods. A soil that is not too poor, a little mature compost at most, and that is all.

Temperature and humidity

The pea is a cool-season vegetable, unlike the bean. It germinates from 8 to 10 degrees, grows well between 10 and 18 degrees, and withstands small frosts without flinching, especially the round-seeded varieties, the hardiest. That is what allows it to be sown early in Belgium.

Its real enemy is heat. Above 25 degrees, flowering aborts, the pods no longer form and the plant wears out. That is why we sow early here: the harvest needs to be over before the strong heat of July and August. A pea sown too late gives little.

Pruning and upkeep

The pea is not pruned. Maintenance mainly comes down to the support: as soon as the young plants show their first tendrils, put up the stakes or netting for the climbing varieties. The tendrils grab hold on their own, you just need to guide them in the first few days. The dwarf varieties stand almost upright, a row of twigs or a small net helps them not to flop.

Hoe and weed at the base to keep the soil clean and cool, and earth up the young plants slightly to anchor them. Harvest regularly, every two or three days in full season: picking the ready pods pushes the plant to form new ones and clearly prolongs production.

Pests and diseases

Powdery mildew is the most common disease, especially at the end of the season when the weather becomes hot and dry. It covers the foliage with a white mealy felting and weakens the plant. Sowing early to harvest before this period, airing the rows and watering at the base rather than on the leaves clearly limit the problem.

As for pests, the pea moth lays its eggs in the flowers and its little grubs end up in the pods at shelling time, a great classic. Aphids colonise the young shoots. But the real troubles of the Belgian spring are the birds that dig up the seeds and pull out the young seedlings, and the slugs that devour the seedlings in damp weather. Protect the sowings from the moment they go into the ground.

Propagation

The pea is sown directly in place, without transplanting, which makes it simple. Sow in clusters of four to five seeds every thirty centimetres, or in a line spacing the seeds three to four centimetres apart, two or three centimetres deep. Thin little, if at all: the pea likes to grow a bit crowded, in a clump, which helps it hold itself up.

You can also save your own seeds. Let a few fine pods dry out completely on the plant at the end of the season, shell them and keep the seeds dry. They resow the following year, provided you start from a non-hybrid variety.

Month-by-month care calendar

Green Hub tips

• Sow early, from March when the soil drains. The pea likes the cool and hates the heat: the later you sow, the less you harvest.
• Never any nitrogen fertiliser. It is a legume that fixes its own nitrogen and even enriches the soil for the next crop.
• Protect the young sowings from the birds from the moment they go into the ground, with a net or brushwood. They are crazy about the seeds and the seedlings.
• Harvest every two or three days in full season. Picking regularly pushes the plant to form new pods.