What is the best month to plant peas?

Peas are a common edible legume with relatively comprehensive and balanced nutrition and unique flavor, making them very popular among consumers. Moreover, it has high yield, low planting cost and short growth cycle, making it very suitable for large-scale planting. So when is the best month to plant peas? Let’s learn more about it below.

What is the best month to plant peas?

The planting time of peas varies from region to region. For areas north of the Yangtze River, spring sowing is usually carried out from March to April. In areas south of the Yangtze River, peas are mostly planted in autumn, from September to November.

How to plant peas correctly?

1. Soil selection

Peas prefer flat, well-drained farmland with fertile soil. Before sowing, deep plowing and fine harrowing should be carried out to ensure that the soil is loose and breathable. At the same time, avoid planting peas on land where legumes have been planted within the same year to reduce the occurrence of diseases.

2. Seed treatment

Soak the seeds in 45℃ warm water for 30 minutes, take out the seeds, rinse them with clean water, and soak them in 30℃ clean water for a few hours. After the seeds have absorbed enough water, take out the seeds and wrap them with gauze to germinate. Control the temperature at around 20℃. White sprouts will appear in about 2-3 days and can be sown immediately.

3. Sowing method

The main methods include row sowing, spot sowing or broadcast sowing. Prepare about ten to fifteen kilograms of pea seeds per acre, sow three to five seeds in each hole with a row spacing of 15 to 20 centimeters, and the distance between individual plants in the row is about five centimeters. About 60,000 to 64,000 seedlings can be maintained per acre.

4. Field management

(1) Intertillage and weeding: Pea seedlings are easily damaged by weeds and need to be intertillage and weeded 2-3 times.

(2) Build a trellis to guide vines: Peas are climbing plants. When the plants grow to a certain height, it is necessary to build a trellis to guide the vines so that the pea seedlings can climb and grow on the trellis to ensure the pea yield.

(3) Water and fertilizer management: Peas are drought-tolerant but sensitive to waterlogging. When it comes to water management, drainage should be the main focus, and when it comes to fertilization, emphasis should be placed on the use of basal fertilizer. In addition, it is necessary to apply nutrients such as phosphorus fertilizer and potassium fertilizer in time at different growth stages of peas.

5. Pest and disease control

Peas have relatively few diseases and pests. If pests and diseases occur, you can use 20 grams of 10% imidacloprid plus 6 ml of diazinon for prevention and control, mainly targeting leaf miners, aphids and cabbage loopers. While preventing and controlling insect pests, you can add 75-100 grams of 75% thiophanate-methyl to prevent diseases.

In general, peas are best grown in spring and fall. However, pea planting technology involves multiple links and details. Only by fully mastering these planting and management points can the yield and quality of peas be effectively improved.