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PEA (Pisum)
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See also:PEA (Pisum) , a genus of the See also:order See also:Leguminosae, consisting of herbs with See also:compound pinnate leaves ending in tendrils, by means of which the weak stems are enabled to support themselves, and with large leafy stipules at the See also:base. The See also:flowers (fig. 1) are typically " papilionaceous," with a " See also:standard " or large petal above, two See also:side petals or wings, and two front petals below forming the See also:keel. The stamens are ten—nine See also:united, the tenth usually See also:free or only slightly joined to the others.
This separation allows approach to the See also:honey which is secreted at the base of the staminal See also:tube. The ovary is prolonged into a See also:long, thick, See also:bent See also:style, compressed from side to side at the tip and fringed with hairs. The See also:fruit is a characteristic " legume " or pod (fig. 2), bursting when ripe into halves, which See also:bear the large globular seeds (peas) on their edges. These seeds are on See also:short stalks, the upper extremity of which is dilated into a shallow See also:cup (aril) ; the two See also:seed-leaves (cotyledons) are thick and fleshy, with a radicle bent along their edges on one side. The genus is exceedingly See also:close to Lathyrus, being only distinguished technically by the style, which in the latter genus is compressed from above downwards and not thick. It is not surprising, therefore, that under the See also:general name " pea " See also:species both of Pisum and of Lathyrus are included. The See also:common See also: The See also:garden pea, P. sativum, which has See also: The chick pea (q.v.) (Cicer arietinum), not cultivated in See also:England, is still farther removed from the true peas. The See also:everlasting pea of gardens is a species of Lathyrus (L. latifolius) with very deep fleshy roots, bold foliage, and beautiful but scentless flowers; the field pea (Pisum arvense) is better adapted than the See also:bean to See also:light soils, and is best cultivated in rows of such a width as to admit of See also:horse-hoeing. The See also:early See also:stage at which the plants fall over, and forbid further culture, renders it even more needful than in the case of beans to sow them only on See also:land already clean. If See also:annual weeds can be kept in check until the peas once get a close See also:cover, they then occupy the ground so completely that nothing else can live under them; and the ground, after their removal, is found in the choicest See also:condition. A thin See also:crop of peas should never be allowed to stand, as the land is sure to get perfectly wild. Thedifficulty of getting this crop well harvested renders it peculiarly advisable to sow only the early varieties. The pea prefers a friable calcareous See also:loam, deeply worked, and well enriched with See also:good hotbed or See also:farm-yard manure. The early crops require a warm sheltered situation, but the later are better grown 6 or 8 ft. apart, or more, in the open quarters, See also:dwarf crops being introduced between the rows. The dwarf of early sorts may be sown 3 or 4 ft. apart. The deep working of the See also:soil is of importance, lest the plants should suffer in hot dry .See also:weather from See also:mildew or See also:arrest of growth. The first See also:sowing may be made about the beginning or See also:middle of See also:November, in front of a See also:south See also:wall, the plants being defended by spruce See also:fir branches or other spray throughout the See also:winter. In See also:February sowings are sometimes made in private gardens, in See also:flower-pots or boxes, and the See also:young plants afterwards planted out. The See also:main crop should be sown towards the end of February, and moderate sowings should be made twice a See also:month afterwards, up to the beginning of See also:July for the See also:north, and about the third See also:week in July for warmer districts. During dry hot weather See also:late peas derive See also:great benefit from mulching and watering. The latest sowings, at the middle or end of See also:August, should consist of the best early sorts, as they are not so long in producing pods as the larger and finer sorts, and by this means the See also:supply may be prolonged till See also:October or November. As they grow the See also:earth is See also:drawn up to the stems, which are also supported by stakes, a practice which in a well-kept garden is always advisable, although it is said that the early varieties arrive sooner at maturity when recumbent. Peas grown late in autumn are subject to mildew, to obviate which it has been proposed to dig over the ground in the usual way, and to soak the spaces to be occupied by the rows of peas thoroughly with See also:water—the earth on each side to be then ceilected so as to form ridges 7 or 8 in. high, these ridges being well watered, and the seed sown on them in single rows. If dry weather at any See also:time set in, water should be supplied profusely once a week. To produce very early crops the See also:French See also:market-gardeners used to sow early in November, in frames, on a border having a good aspect, the seeds being covered very slightly. The young plants are trans-planted into other frames in See also:December, the ground inside being dug out so as to be 18 or 20 in. below the sashes, and the earth thus removed placed against the outside of the frames. The young plants, when 3 or 4 in. high, are planted in patches of three or four, 8 in. asunder, in four See also:longitudinal rows. The sashes are covered at See also:night with See also:straw mats, and opened whenever the weather is sufficiently mild. When 8 or ro in. high the stems are inclined towards the back of the See also:frame, a little earth being drawn to their base, and when the plants come into blossom the tops are pinched out above the third or See also:fourth flower to force them into bearing. As soon as they begin to pod, the soil may have a See also:gentle watering, whenever sufficiently warmed by the See also:sun, but a too vigorous growth at an earlier period would be detrimental. Thus treated the plants bear pods See also:fit for gathering in the first fortnight in See also:April.
A very convenient means of obtaining an early crop is to sow in 5-in. pots, a few seeds in each, the plants to be ultimately planted out on a warm border. Peas may also be obtained early if gently forced in frames, in the same way as See also:kidney beans, the dwarfest varieties being preferable.
For the very early peas the rows should range See also:east and See also:west, but for the main crops north and south. The See also:average See also:depth of the drills should be about 2 in. for small sorts, and a trifle more for the larger kinds. The drills should be made wide and See also:flat at bottom so that the seeds may be better separated in sowing. The large sorts are the better for being sown 3 in. apart, Chopped See also:furze may be advantageously scattered in the See also:drill before covering in, to check the depredations of mice, and before levelling the See also:surface the soil should be gently trodden down over the seeds.
A good selection of sorts may be made from the following:—Early.—See also: Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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