Planting peas and growing them successfully yourself

Peas are a classic vegetable that can also be grown in your own garden. But peas require a lot of care and attention.

In Germany, the classic vegetables are mostly imported from distant countries - this includes the cultivation The protein-rich pea is also easily possible in this country and the taste is fresh, of course best. The pea (Pisum sativum) is one of the oldest cultivated plants and originally comes from Asia Minor, where it was cultivated several thousand years ago. We'll show you how you can successfully grow the popular pea plant in your own garden.

Growing peas: the right location

Basically, it can be said that pea plants place fewer demands on the location than many other vegetables. The plant grows well in a sunny spot. But even a partially shaded place is not a problem. When choosing a location, you should still take a closer look at the soil. For optimal root penetration, it should not be too heavy, but humic and profound. Our

Plantura organic tomato & vegetable soil is ideal for your pea plants, for example.

Pea plants also prefer soil with a high content of lime and potash - so do not choose a soil that is too acidic. One point that you should definitely pay attention to is crop rotation when growing peas. The vegetables are incompatible with themselves, which is why you should take a break from cultivation of 6 years. The same goes for other legumes such as Beans or clover.

You should consider these points when choosing the right location for peas:

• Partially shaded to sunny place
• Humic and deep soil
• Good supply of lime and potash
• Cultivation pause of 6 years after the last pea cultivation

Sow peas and multiply them yourself

That Sowing peas in all their variations (field peas, peas, sugar peas, field peas) is usually carried out directly in the field and requires little effort. From the end of March, plant the peas about 5 cm deep into the soil for sowing. To do this, keep a distance of 5 - 10 cm between the plants and a row spacing of 40 cm. In the case of pea peas, you should only sow from April, when the temperatures are a little higher.

Planting out peas: the way to the outdoors

In cooler areas you can also prefer the peas on the windowsill. From March onwards, sow the peas approx. 5 cm deep in seed pots and plant the young plants outdoors in April.

Caring for peas properly

As soon as the temperatures rise in spring, pea plants grow so fast that you can hardly keep up and form many flowers from which the tasty legumes grow later. Despite the supposedly easy cultivation of peas, you should consider some tips on care.

Pour peas

In principle, pea plants do not need a lot of water. The rule is therefore: Better to pour less than too much. Overwatering the plant can cause it to perish over the long term. In the case of prolonged heat in summer, you should still ensure regular watering.

Fertilize peas

The popular pea belongs to the legume family (Fabaceae), which, in addition to their use as vegetables, also enrich the soil with nitrogen (legumes). This ensures that the use of additional fertilizer is not necessary for peas. More important than the supply of other nutrients is a loose soil structure, which you can achieve through regular chopping of the soil. In addition, hoeing also removes unpopular weeds from the bed.

Peas provide a climbing aid

As with most legumes, it is also advisable to set up a climbing aid in the form of branches for the pea. Most types of pea grow a maximum of 80 cm high, so twigs or hazel branches are sufficient for stabilization. Put the twigs in the place between the plants as soon as they have reached a height of a few centimeters.

When caring for pea plants, here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Water less than too much
• No fertilization necessary due to its own nitrogen fixation
• A climbing aid made of twigs serves as a support

Pea varieties and variations

The pea has a large number of different variations and varieties for growing in your own garden. We have selected a small selection for you:

Field peas (Pisum sativum L. convar. speciosum (Dierb.) Alef.)

Field peas are also known as field peas or field peas. The high protein content (20-25% of the dry matter) is well suited for animal feeding:

• Alvesta: New variety with high grain yield and plenty of protein.
• Respect: Excellent variety with good growth; high yield with lots of protein.

Marrow peas (Pisum sativum L. convar. medullare Aleph.)

Marrow peas are usually processed by industry due to their good taste. For your own garden we recommend:

• Vitara: Well suited variety for growing in your own garden; long harvest time, good yield and very resistant to Fusarium and powdery mildew.
• Grandera: Grandera pea grows quite robust and rarely suffers from diseases; high-yielding and particularly tasty.
• Markana: Robust variety with a compact and stable growth; does not require any climbing aid; good taste.

Pea peas (Pisum sativum L. convar. Sativum)

Peas are mostly dried after harvest and then cooked:

• Very early May: Extremely early pea with a good aroma and good yield.
• Little Rhinelander: Traditional and robust variety with medium to early ripeness; deep green pods with quite abundant grains.
• Early Harzerin: Early and proven variety with robust growth.

Sugar peas (Pisum sativum L. convar. axiphium Aleph.)

Sweet peas do not have a parchment layer in the sleeve, which is why they are also known as snow peas and are particularly tender and delicious:

• ambrosia: Well-known German variety with fleshy pods; very good aroma and high yield.
• Halfway up Normand: Early ripening variety with light green pods.
• Norli: A new variety; grows very compact; ideal for the balcony or terrace; good yield and aroma.
• Vroege Hendriks: Early variety; perfect for growing in German gardens.

Further Pea varieties see this article.

Harvest peas properly

It's time for them early in the year Pea harvest. The time of harvest depends on the variety and differs by several weeks. While pea peas can be harvested from May, the harvest of pith and sugar peas starts from June. Check the stocks regularly for ripe specimens. They acknowledge the ripe legumes:

• Tactile peas in the pods
• Ripe sugar peas with a pod length of more than 5 cm

If the peas can be seen, you should not wait any longer and harvest immediately. Otherwise it can happen that the peas become overripe and taste more floury instead of sweet.

Use, freeze and store peas

If you are gradually harvesting the fresh peas, it is best to prepare them fresh. We'll show you how you can use the protein-rich vegetables and how best to store them in case you can't keep up with the fresh consumption.

Use peas with pods

Sugar peas, also known as sugar snap peas, are the only varieties that can be eaten with pods. In fact, from a botanical point of view, the pea is not a real pod, as is often thought, but a legume. We recommend that you do not let these ripen for too long, otherwise they can become fibrous. Blanching in water or frying in a pan is ideal for preparation.

Peel the peas from the pods

In contrast to sugar peas, it is not customary to eat the pods with pulp and pea peas. You should therefore remove the peas before preparing them: removing the peas from the pods is quick and easy. You can then compost the pods.

Store peas properly with and without pods

Drying peas:

A classic and time-saving method of making peas last longer is to dry the peas. Basically, only pith and pea peas are dried, as the pods are not eaten. There are several approaches to drying: You can either store the pods closed after harvesting until the peas dry inside.

It is better to remove the peas from the pod and let them air dry for a few days. If you want it a little faster, you can put the peas in the oven for a few hours on low heat (50 ° C). At the end, pour the dry peas into a jar and seal it tightly.

Freezing peas:

Freezing is very suitable for all types of peas in order to keep the vegetables fresh and green for months. First blanch the peas briefly in boiling water and then fry them off. They can then be frozen in the freezer bag or other container.

Boil down peas:

One easy way to store peas is by canning them. To do this, proceed as follows: Rinse and boil a mason jar with its rubber seal properly so that it does not get dirty. Pour the fresh peas into the jar, add water and seal it neatly. Now boil the peas in the glass at 100 ° C for about 2 hours. You can either use a boiling pot or a water bath in the oven for this. A major disadvantage of canning, as opposed to freezing, is the loss of freshness in the peas. Nevertheless, the method is suitable for making the vegetables durable for several months.

More detailed information on Harvesting and storage of peas see this article.