How to Grow Peas and Pole Beans: Cultivation Tips for Productive Legume Crops

libre

March 21, 2013 12 reads

Peas, beans, and broad beans are productive legumes worth a place in any kitchen garden: they yield generous harvests on small plots, enrich the soil with nitrogen and phosphorus, and provide protein-rich food for both people and livestock. During the Austro-Hungarian era, German colonists living in our villages grew vegetables and fruit with great success. They were especially fond of productive varieties of sweet peas and climbing beans grown up supports.

How do you grow peas successfully?

An excellent pea variety has survived to this day, and a plot measuring 4x2 m can yield up to two buckets of it — enough both for eating fresh and for canning.

Growing legume crops — *This variety produces twice the harvest of fodder peas; it is sweet and has pods 6–15 cm long.* It bears fruit over the course of a month. You can eat it at the milk-wax ripeness stage, picking the lower pods first and then working higher and higher, from the end of June until late July or early August.

Pods harvested together with the haulm "ripen" in the sun throughout August and become hard. Seeds are best stored in cotton bags. The soil for peas is prepared in autumn: dig it over and, once every three or four years, add manure.

Good preceding crops for peas are potatoes and vegetables — but not legumes or clover. Before sowing, soak the seeds in water for 10 hours. The best time to sow is April, at a temperature of 12–14 °C, using the square-cluster method: two seeds per cluster, with 8–10 cm between clusters, at a depth of 3 cm.

Seedlings emerge within 5–7 days. Peas grow vigorously and need plenty of moisture — water them at least once a week if there is no rain. Throughout the growing season, weed and earth up the plants, and once they stretch up, carefully tie them to stakes so they do not snap, since they grow tall, up to 2 m. In a dry year you have to water twice a week, ideally in the evening.

How should peas be prepared and canned?

Peas are best eaten fresh — they are tasty, sweet, and tender, and even the pods are edible once the inner film is removed.

For canning, gather peas of medium ripeness, and keep a few details in mind. Peas intended for canning must first be boiled in salted water for 15 minutes (1 spoon of salt per 1 litre of water). Then pack them into jars of 0.5 l or 1 l, adding 1 g of citric acid per 0.5 l.

Heat the jars slowly and sterilise them — 0.5 l jars for 1 hour, 1 l jars for 1.5 hours. Store in a dark, cool place.

Growing peas is rewarding for anyone who keeps rabbits or goats, since peas provide valuable protein feed. They also enrich the soil with nitrogen and phosphorus, so potatoes and vegetables grown after them crop well.

How do you grow climbing beans?

Climbing beans are best planted along paths on the sunny side of the garden.

In summer we use young beans in soups and borscht and make side dishes from them. Beans are very good for children, students, and everyone who works hard mentally, because they are rich in phosphorus, and their protein and oil content is close to that of soy — only tastier.

Why grow broad beans in the garden?

Broad beans deserve a spot in the vegetable garden because they tolerate drought and frost and grow without any extra support. They are an excellent feed crop for chickens, rabbits, and nutria — served boiled, either on their own or mixed with potatoes. Harvest the broad beans in autumn and burn the stalks afterwards.

Both broad beans and climbing beans can be canned with meat, though beans need to be boiled twice as long. These really are wonderful crops — peas, beans, and broad beans.

In developed countries such as the USA, Canada, and Belgium, they are widely used both as food and as livestock feed. Hungary earns considerable foreign currency exporting peas. Yet we hunt for them in the shops in vain, and beans are an infrequent guest on the city dweller's table, even though in calorie content they are almost a match for meat. So — let legumes into your garden!

Frequently Asked Questions

When should you plant peas?

Peas are best sown in April when soil temperature reaches 12-14°C. Use a square-nest method, planting two seeds per nest with 8-10 cm spacing at a depth of 3 cm. Soak seeds in water for 10 hours before sowing for better germination.

How long do peas take to germinate?

Pea seedlings typically emerge 5-7 days after sowing. The plants grow intensively and require plenty of moisture, needing watering at least once a week if there is no rain, or twice weekly during dry years.

How do you preserve green peas?

For canning, harvest peas at medium ripeness. First boil them in salted water for 15 minutes using one tablespoon of salt per liter of water. Then pack the peas into jars for preservation.

What are good crop predecessors for peas?

Good predecessors for peas include potatoes and other vegetables. Avoid planting peas after legumes or clover. Prepare the soil in autumn by digging it over, and apply manure once every three to four years.

How tall do these pea plants grow?

These pea plants grow tall, reaching up to 2 meters. As they grow, gently tie them to supports or stakes to prevent them from breaking. The variety produces sweet pods 6-15 cm long and fruits for about a month.

When can you harvest peas?

Peas can be consumed at milk-wax ripeness, picking the lower pods first then moving upward. Harvesting runs from late June to late July or early August. Pods left with the haulm ripen in the sun through August and harden for seed storage.