Climbing Peas Need First Aid!

March 9, 2011 5:34 PM

I planted climbing peas about 2 weeks ago and they are turning yellow, drying out despite a fair amount of water, and losing their nice green color. I think I overwatered them to begin with, but I let them go without water for a few days, and put them outside so they could get more light. Now they look like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60463163@N06/?saved=1 Please help! What should I do? I live in San Jose, zone 8B if that matters. Nights are in the upper 40's and days are in the mid to upper 60's. Gardening newbie, all other plants are doing well.
posted by luciddream928 to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

You aren't clear about when they started looking like that, but it's possible that putting them outside to get more light actually sunburnt them--plants raised primarily inside/under artificial light need to be gradually introduced to the higher UV levels outside.

Peas are fairly cold-hardy, so I'd just scrap this batch and direct-seed more outside.
posted by pullayup at 5:43 PM on March 9, 2011

Response by poster: They started looking like that when they were inside, too. They had indirect light all day, perhaps that was the problem?
posted by luciddream928 at 5:47 PM on March 9, 2011

Best answer: In the midwest, you can go out with a pick and chip holes in the frozen soil to plant your peas. In the bay area, you can plant almost year round, except if your summer temps are too high. Our peas, planted outside in Oakland sometime in December, are doing great.

Those guys look like they are toast- they are really leggy, which generally isn't a good sign for peas. Even if they do recover, they are not going to be strong plants or good flowerers.

Direct seed them, give them something to climb on, don't water them too much until after they are germinated (one of the biggest problems with peas is rotting in the ground) and you should be good.

Also, get yourself a copy of Golden Gate Gardening, the bay area gardening bible!
posted by rockindata at 5:54 PM on March 9, 2011

Best answer: A couple more pea tips:

1. Water the soil, not the vegetation, and don't get into the pea patch (i.e. to pick peas) while they're wet. Water in the morning (reasonable people disagree about this) so the surface of the patch won't stay wet longer than it needs to. Moisture can encourage disease, as noted, and you can spread it around by messing with them while they're damp. Same goes for beans.

2. Plant more every week or two until it starts warming up. Peas tend to grow, produce a bunch of peas, and then crap out, so this will help you have a steady supply until the hot weather does them all in. Cucumbers work like this too but on a slightly different schedule (they like it warmer than peas).

3. If you're feeling extravagant, inoculate them with rhizobia bacteria, which will move into nodules on the peas' roots and convert atmospheric nitrogen to forms usable by the plant.

4. If you're feeling really extravagant, consider shading them with some Reemay or shadecloth as the hot weather sets in to delay the inevitable summer pea-death.
posted by pullayup at 6:08 PM on March 9, 2011

Best answer: PBS's victory garden book notes that peas and beans go through this stage because their nitrogen fixation hasn't picked up (or soil temps are inhibiting nutrient update), and suggests a dose of "balanced water soluble fertilizer at full strength" (Not sure what a balanced one means, though) [from April, Peas] (The description is "if the leaves begin to look a bit yellow")
posted by k5.user at 6:53 PM on March 9, 2011

Response by poster: Wow, thank you everyone for your great answers!! I will pull them up and check out the roots tomorrow.

Jamaro, if it's a fungal infection, do I need to dump ALL the soil or just the top part with the plants & roots?
posted by luciddream928 at 8:06 PM on March 9, 2011

Best answer: I can't speak to the specifics of pea plant life, but if it's like any fungal infection I've dealt with you're better off just chucking the entirety of the pot. Fungii are nasty little things that can survive a lot more than you'd think, and rather than chance losing another plant I'd just throw out the lot.
posted by ZaphodB at 9:24 PM on March 9, 2011

Best answer: As pullayup said, they're just tired. They've grown too fast and have used up all their nitrogen. You either need to slow down their growth (with the shade) or fertilize them.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 10:21 PM on March 9, 2011

Best answer: n.b. a balanced fertilizer will have approximately equal proportions of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (N-P-K) and the number on the container will be 3-3-3 or similar. If it's slightly higher in nitrogen, no worries.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 4:29 AM on March 10, 2011