Deirdre's Garden Diary

:: Peas and Beans ::

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
:: 04.05.06 ::

Last year the wando peas and the little marvel peas just quit growing after they got to be about three inches tall. I think they were not getting enough sun on the backside of the trellis. I probably didn't water them enough either... not sure, but they definitely did not make it past the sprouting stage seen in the pictures below.

The black-eyed peas did excellent by comparison. They got bushy and put out a pretty steady supply of beans. Some of the plants got leaf miners on them, and I pulled those out and threw them away. This cut down on the number of plants I had and beans that I got from what remained. Overall I plan to make some changes to how these are planted this year. Hopefully I learned how to do a better job! I planted snap peas about three weeks ago and they are doing pretty good so far, I will have pictures soon.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
:: 06.03.05 ::

Wow! I planted the cowpeas (left row, left image) and the zipper cream peas (right row, left image) and they exploded out of the ground in just a few days! They are already as tall as the English peas (right image) that were planted weeks ago...

California Blackeye Cowpea sprouts (left) and Wando English Pea sprouts (right)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
:: Posted: 4-20-2005 - Updated: 5-27-2005 ::

Wando Peas
(Matures 68-70 Days, Vines 24" high)
Heat and Drought Tolerant)
Planted: April 20, 2005

FEATURES: An excellent sweet fresh pea for hot, dry climates, Often called "the hot weather pea." A prolific producer of 3 1/2" to 4" dark green pods that contain 7-9 dark green peas. Wando can be planted later in the season, after earlier, less heat tolerant vines have stopped producing. Shows tolerance in extreme heat or cold.

Little Marvel Peas
(Matures 62 Days, Vines)
Planted: April 20, 2005

FEATURES: Early producing Little Marvel peas are dark green, plump, straight and very tightly packed pods with 6-8 tender sweet juicy peas. Vines are compact, growing 15-17" tall. A great home garden variety for fresh eating and good for freezing.

California Blackeye Cowpea
(55-65 days, low bushy plant)
Planted: May 27th, 2005

FEATURES: The seeds are not crowded in the pods. They are white, with dark black eyes. It has green pods, about 8 inches long, easy to shell. Plant southern peas after the soil is warm (62 F or greater) in late spring or early summer. This vegetable is very tolerant to hot weather and can be planted throughout the summer with good results. For fall planting, plant about 65 to 75 days prior to the average frost date to be sure of production. Normally, a light fertilizer application is applied at or prior to planting. Southern peas fix nitrogen from the air, thus excess nitrogen fertilizer may encourage vine growth at the expense of production. If prolonged periods of dry weather occur, irrigation during flowering and pod fill will be very beneficial for maximum production. Generally, plant southern peas at a rate of 5-7 seeds per foot and 1' deep.

Zipper Cream Peas
(66 days, low bushy plant)
Planted: May 27th, 2005

FEATURES: Uncolored seeds, crowded in the pods. Zipper Cream is a large, easy shelling cream pea with high yields and a delicious flavor. Great fresh or processed. The pods are medium green with large white, creamy peas. The pod turns a straw color when dry. They give a clear colored broth. The name Zipper came from the ease of unzipping the pea pod to expose the seed. "Crowder" peas are seeds that grow right up against each other and grow so close together that they are actually crowd themselves within the pods.

:: Go to the main Garden Diary and Plant Index ::