Many owners of suburban and personal plots love to plant peas. This crop is undemanding to growing conditions, cold-resistant and yields a tasty harvest of sweet peas in early summer. But for the harvest to be really decent, the plants need support. Without it, you should not expect a good return from landing.
What is the support for?
Support for peas is needed already in the period when the height of its sprouts reaches 30 cm. An adult plant can rise up to two or more meters. Without support, it will not be able to stand upright due to the weakness of the stem. And therefore, already at a height of about 30 cm, peas are prone to lodging.
This should not be allowed for the following reasons:
- in a "creeping" position, individual plants are intertwined, which will complicate the subsequent collection of pods;
- stems, leaves and pods lying on the ground are prone to rot, shrinkage and other diseases;
- ripe pods can not always be found under the lying leaves and stems, they overripe, which gives the whole plant a "signal" about the end of the growing season; result - the plant begins to dry;
- yield and early maturity of planting suffer significantly: not all parts of the crop receive good lighting and are provided with fresh air.
If supported, the peas will stand upright, well-lit and viewed from all sides. The pods will ripen evenly, and the peas will have normal juiciness and sugariness.
Cultivated planting of peas usually does not disturb dangerous diseases.
Timing of tying peas
When the first antennae begin to appear in the sprouts, the stems begin to strengthen to the support by tying a string or their own antennae. Becheva is needed for the initial period of crop growth, especially in places where winds often blow. With gusts of wind, the still weak and few antennae may not hold onto the supporting structure, and the fragile stems that have come off may break. A little later, when the antennae securely hold the plant, it is better to remove the twine so that it does not damage the stem. The first antennae grow back when the sprouts are about 20 cm high. As the peas grow, new antennae appear, which also hook onto the support.
In household plots and dachas, peas are often grown in the open field, leaving places in greenhouses for vegetables, which need to always be warm. And on the street there is a large selection of natural supports for it. For example, a fence made of a chain-link or palisade, planting a sunflower, a barn wall.
But if there is none of the above (or the peas are sown in the greenhouse), then it will not be difficult to build supports from the material at hand with your own hands.
Types of devices
It is recommended to make supports for peas even before sowing seeds, so as not to disturb the seedlings and their roots later.
The following types of devices can be distinguished to support this climbing culture, which are most often found among gardeners:
- trellis supports;
- support stakes;
- constructions "hut" and "wigwam";
- rigid mesh.
Demand always determines supply. Of course, you can buy ready-made supports if you have free funds. For those who like to craft everything according to their desires and imaginations, there are on sale the necessary materials for the construction of a unique design for peas. And still others will collect support from what is on the farm and the neighboring forest, without spending a single ruble on it. But almost always, every owner gets something similar to one of the devices mentioned above. This is due to the fact that the named structures are basic, invented a long time ago, and there are not so many other options yet.
Ready
Among the ready-made supporting structures for peas, several of the most popular are worth highlighting.
- Support grid for peas U-45 made of non-rotting material 1x6 meters in size (brand "Protekt"). It is suitable for both short and tall plant varieties grown in open and closed ground. The mesh size is 45 mm. It must be removed for the winter, as it does not withstand low temperatures. For 6-meter beds with tall varieties of peas, you need to buy 2 such nets (the height of one is 1 m, and a support is needed at least two meters high).
- Tapestry grid F-170 made of strong thread 1 mm thick and mesh 150x170 mm. Roll size - 2x10 meters. Besides peas, it is used for cucumbers, beans, beans and ornamental plants. The mesh can withstand low temperatures. It is required to pick up the stakes-stands 2.5 meters long and drive them into the ground where the pea bed is planned. Manufacturer - NP "Protect".
- Rendell trellis support mesh measuring 2x5 meters with a mesh of 150 mm. It will be convenient when complete with a folding stand made of a wooden or welded frame (trellis portable support).
In addition to the trellis, on sale you can find a rigid mesh for supporting peas. It is unlikely that more of the listed devices can be found ready-made, but they are easy to make yourself.
Homemade
The presented devices are most often made by hand, so some of the novice gardeners may need a more detailed description of them.
- Trellis supports have different options, but the essence of all options is the same. At the ends of the pea bed, two metal or wooden posts are driven into the soil. The overhead height of the hammered pillars should be at least two meters for tall varieties of peas and 1.5 meters for low ones. Cords or trellis net are stretched between the posts. The next trellis is stretched at intervals of 15–20 cm in height. The mesh should be with cells no more than 10 cm.
- Stakes for support are firmly driven into the garden bed at a distance of 40-50 cm from each other along its entire length. They will serve as a support for growing plants. For stakes, iron rods, branches of fruit trees and shrubs, tree stakes, thin pipes up to two meters long are used.
- The structure of the "hut" is made of long wooden poles attached to each other in pairs in the form of a hut along the entire length of the bed. From above, the tops of all pairs are fastened together for strength with a "ridge". Several longitudinal poles on the sloping sides of the "hut" also serve to strengthen the structure. Peas are directed along the inclined poles to the ridge, clinging to the poles and to each other. The distances between the inclined pairs are about 1 meter, the length of the poles is 2 meters.
- The support, which is called "wigwam", has the shape of a pointed hut, similar to the dwellings of the northern peoples and Indians. It is built from inclined poles, one end of which is stuck into the ground in a circle, and the other ends are tied together at the top of the resulting cone. A growing pea stalk crawls along the outer sides of the structure, forming a pretty green slide. For such support, the sowing of seeds must be appropriate - around the base of the "wigwam".
- The rigid mesh support is easy to install and therefore has a large number of different options: arches, vertical rows, vertical cylinders and sloping structures in the form of green arbors. For a rigid support, a galvanized mesh with a cell of 12.2 mm and greenhouse arcs are purchased. Plastic nets are also available for sale, but due to their short service life, they have not received wide distribution among vegetable growers.
Tips
It is worth paying attention to a few tips from experienced gardeners when growing peas.
- Wooden fences can be used to support the peas. Their metal counterparts are not recommended to be used as a support for any climbing cultivated plants: when heated in the sun, the metal can burn the stems of plants and lead to the death of plants.
- Low-growing peas need to be sown two seeds per hole. Two stems will grow, which will support each other, so they will not need special supports.
- The ideal mesh size for trellis nets is less than 10 mm. But if there are no such ones on sale, you should not be upset - peas will also please on a support with a large mesh. You just need to look after the correct attachment of the pea antennae to the support.
For information on how to make a support for peas with your own hands, see the next video.