Content
There are several ways to tie peas in the garden. Most varieties need support, you can build it with your own hands from improvised means.
What is pea support for?
Peas have weak stems and can maintain an upright position without support only up to 30 cm. After that, the shoots continue to grow in length up to 3 m, but lie on the ground under their own weight and under the weight of the pods.
It is impossible to leave the culture in this position for several reasons:
- shoots lying on the ground do not receive enough light and oxygen;
- the stems are intertwined, which makes harvesting difficult;
- in a horizontal position, shoots and leaves are more often affected by fungal diseases and pests;
- the pods, lying on the ground under the cover of the green mass, overripe, after which the bush ends the growing season ahead of time and begins to dry out.
If you build comfortable supports for the peas and carefully tie the stalks, the plant will be able to get enough sun and air. The beans will ripen evenly, the fruits will be juicy and sugary.
When to tie peas in the garden
Peas should be tied up in accordance with real need. They usually focus not on the timing and weather conditions, but on the height of the plants. The peas begin to lie down after they grow to about 30 cm.At this point, it should be fixed on supports, and it is advisable to carry out the garter even earlier, with a bush height of about 15-20 cm.
How to tie peas in the open field
Peas are tied in the garden in many ways. Which one to choose depends on personal preference and convenience. But in the process, you need to follow several rules:
- Most pea cultivars have tendrils designed specifically for clinging to vertical surfaces. Garter ropes can be omitted for such plants. If fixation to the bush is nevertheless necessary, then soft tissue should be used as a material that does not injure the shoots.
- When placing pea stems on supports, gaps of 20-30 cm are left between them. Otherwise, the shoots, even in an upright position, will intertwine and interfere with the growth of each other.
- For the construction of the support, only healthy and clean wooden stakes and boards are used without signs of decay or pests. Infections from the garter can spread from the trellis to the peas, and as a result, the crop will be severely damaged.
- To install supports, it is undesirable to use untreated branches of rapidly growing trees. In particular, willow stakes are a poor option. When placed in a vegetable garden, they can take root and develop into young seedlings.
For tall varieties, a garter is required without fail. But photos of tapestries for peas with their own hands show that low varieties are also usually recorded. They are less prone to lodging, but still lean to the ground under the weight of the pods.
Interesting solutions for peas supports
As supports, you can use ordinary ready-made meshes or home-made structures. It is important that the garter structure is suitable for the size of the peas, does not obstruct the harvest and does not shade the plant from the rays of the sun.
Stakes
The simplest version of support for peas in the garden is stakes driven into the garden at a short distance from each other. As a material, you can use not only branches of trees and shrubs, but also plastic pipes. Bushes, as they grow, are fixed on supports in several places for support in an upright position.
Grid
A convenient option for garter peas is a ready-made mesh. It is usually used in combination with trellises or stakes - the material is stretched on supports and the stems are fixed in the cells.
Garter nets are made from decay-resistant materials, so they serve their function for many years. The sizes of the cells can be different - variants with nests of 45, 150, 170 mm are popular. Some nets are designed to withstand low temperatures and can remain in the garden throughout the winter, while others need to be stored at the end of the season.
Trellis
The tapestry is the most common pea garter support. The structure consists of two posts driven into the ground at the ends of a bean crop and a net or wire stretched between them.
Photos of trellis for peas in open ground show that supports for tall varieties should rise at least 2 m above the ground, and for undersized varieties - by 1.5 m.When stretching between the posts of wire or strong cords, gaps of about 15 cm are left between the levels.
Hut
As a support for peas in the beds, you can build several "huts". Long wooden poles are dug into the ground at an angle opposite each other and fastened at the tops. For reliability, longitudinal strips can be installed on the sides of the "hut". For growing pea stalks, a garter is carried out to inclined vertical poles in several places from 30 cm above the ground to the very top.
Wigwam
The support for the "wigwam" garter is similar in design to the "hut", but it is arranged a little more complicated. For its construction, they take 5-7 poles of the same length and dig them into the ground at an angle in a circle, and then fasten the tops. Growing peas, when using the structure, climb up the sticks, and over time, the "wigwam" turns into a green cone.
Bicycle rim
A support using metal rims from a bicycle is also built before sowing the pea seeds. The diagram looks like this:
- One of the circles is laid on the garden bed.
- A wooden plank or iron bar 1.5-2 m high is installed in the center.
- At the top, at the end of the support, a second bicycle rim is attached.
- Thick threads or ropes are stretched vertically between two circles.
The legume crop is sown along the line of the lower rim and, as the bushes grow, the stalks are tied to the stretched threads. Several homemade supports can be placed on the garden bed; at least 50 cm of free space must be left between them.
Fence
If there is no time and opportunity to build a complex structure for a garter, you can simply plant a culture close to a wooden fence. In this case, the growing peas, as they develop, will cling to the pickets or twigs with their antennae.
You can use the fence as a support only if it is located in a sunny area. It is not recommended to sow peas in the shade - the culture will develop poorly.
DIY pea support
The construction of a support for a pea garter outdoors is usually straightforward. The designs are very simple and require inexpensive materials.
Support for peas made of polypropylene pipes
You can make a support for a pea garter from strong and durable polypropylene pipes left over from home repairs. The algorithm looks like this:
- Select several pipes of the same length and diameter with a neat cut.
- Supports are installed in the garden according to one of the schemes in the form of a wigwam, hut, trellis or other design.
- Connect the poles to each other.
Polypropylene pipes are especially convenient in that they can not be tied, but held together using inexpensive plastic fittings. The design will turn out to be very reliable and neat at the same time. Using pipes, it is possible to build a support of any shape and complexity.
DIY portable trellis for peas
It is not recommended to grow peas in the same place for more than a year. Therefore, it is convenient to build a light portable trellis for garter culture, when the time comes, it can be rearranged to a new site. The support is made according to the following scheme:
- Four poles about 1.5-2 m in length are connected in pairs at an angle using screws and horizontal slats at the base.
- The resulting triangular shapes are spread at different ends of the beds and fastened in the lower and upper parts using long crossbeams.
- Twine or thick cords are tied to horizontal slats at intervals of about 20-30 cm.
Pea seeds are sown along the base of the trellis so that the sprouts rise close to the stretched lengths of twine. After the stems of the culture reach 30 cm or more, a garter is carried out for them using a soft cloth.
Support stakes
It is convenient to use stakes for garters on small beds, where the construction of a complex structure does not make sense. The supports are installed as follows:
- Long stakes are dug into the ground at a distance of 20-30 cm from each other.
- Check that the supports are held firmly enough so that they will not fall to the ground by gusts of wind or soil erosion during watering.
- Peas are sown on the garden bed, trying to place the seeds closer to the installed supports for the garter.
- As the shoots develop, they are fixed on stakes with soft tapes every 20-30 cm.
Wooden poles for garters are convenient because, if necessary, they can be installed on the beds after sprouting of the peas.
Wigwam
The supporting structure "wigwam" looks very beautiful in the garden and performs not only practical, but also decorative functions. They do it like this:
- In the center of the bed, a wooden pole or metal rod about 2 m high is dug in.
- At a distance of 70 cm from it, stakes are placed at equal intervals.
- Lean the side parts of the "wigwam" against the central rod at an inclination of about 60 degrees.
- Fasten all the stakes together in the upper part with twine, wire or reinforcement.
It is better to sow peas on the garden bed after the construction of the "wigwam" in order to arrange the seeds clearly in a circle at the base of the structure.
Common mistakes
Installing pea garters is rarely a problem for gardeners. But there are several common mistakes that can hinder the development of culture:
- Construction of the structure after planting the peas. Some supports, for example, stakes, can be dug into the garden with sprouted shoots. But trellises, huts and wigwams must be installed before sowing seeds, otherwise there is a risk of damaging young bushes.
- The use of metal rods and profiles. Iron structures get very hot in the sun and can burn pea shoots and leaves. It is possible to use metal supports for the garter, but only to strengthen the trellis or wigwam. They should not come into direct contact with the plant.
- Unstable installation of the structure. Trellises, huts and other supports must be properly fixed on the surface of the earth so that they do not fall even in a squally wind. It is recommended not just to put the structure on top of the garden bed, but to reliably dig it into the ground.
When carrying out a garter for pea stalks, you cannot use rigid cords, fabrics, and even more so wire. This leads to breakage of the shoots and a slowdown in the growth of bushes.
Conclusion
You can tie peas in the garden to ordinary trellises or more complex structures. It is easy to build them in the garden, but attention must be paid to the strength of the supports and the quality of fixing the stems.