A Detailed Guide to Snow Pea Cultivation Techniques and Ripening Months

Snow peas have received a very good response on the vegetable market. At present, snow pea cultivation has spread across both northern and southern China, but when it comes to snow pea cultivation techniques, due to the continuous development of agricultural technology, there are always some technical essentials that everyone cannot fully master, so the editor has put together a certain summary here.

Cultivation Techniques for Snow Peas

1. Soaking the seeds. Take an appropriate amount of pea seeds. The day before sowing, soak them in water for 8-12 hours in advance.

2. Dibbling the seeds. Before sowing, drain the soaked seeds. Sow by the dibbling method, placing 1 pea seed in each hole. The spacing between each seed is 20 cm.

3. Covering with soil and watering. After placing the seeds, gently cover with a thin layer of soil, and water until thoroughly soaked.

4. Germination. After about 3-5 days, they will germinate.

5. Thinning the seedlings. This depends on the situation; if the plants grow too densely, they still need to be thinned, and the most appropriate spacing is 20 cm or more.

6. Topdressing. Peas have a high fertilizer demand, so topdressing is needed after 20 days, and then once more every 10 days, trying to apply little but often. After about 20 days, when the pea seedlings have grown to a height of about 15-20 cm, support frames should be set up to prevent the plants from toppling.

7. Harvesting. About 20 days after flowering, they can be harvested.

Which Month Snow Peas Ripen

April every year is the season when snow peas ripen. Farmers generally choose to pick and sell them at this time.

The Growing Environment of Snow Peas

1. Light requirements

Snow peas are long-day plants. Most varieties can flower earlier when the light period is extended, and delay flowering when the light period is shortened, but some early-maturing varieties are not strict about light. Most varieties require relatively strong light and a relatively long photoperiod during the pod-setting stage, but they are not suited to high temperatures, and are suitable for planting during the transition period between spring and summer.

2. Water requirements

Snow peas require relatively large amounts of water throughout the entire growth period. During seed germination, if the soil moisture is insufficient, the seeds cannot absorb water and swell, which will greatly delay the emergence period. The seedling stage can endure a certain amount of dry climate. If the air humidity is too low during the flowering stage, it will cause flowers and pods to drop. If high temperature and drought occur during the pod growth stage, the pod fibers will harden earlier, ripening prematurely and reducing quality and yield. Therefore, throughout the entire growth period of snow peas, there must be a sufficient water supply for vigorous growth, large pods and full seeds, and guaranteed quality and quantity. But they are also not tolerant of waterlogging; if the moisture is too great, the seeds are prone to rotting after sowing, the roots are prone to rotting at the seedling stage, and diseases are prone to occurring during the growth period.

3. Soil conditions

Although snow peas are not strict about soil requirements, they can be planted on well-drained sandy loam or newly reclaimed land, but loose neutral soil containing organic matter is preferred, and growth is best in soil with a pH of 6.0-7.2. When soil acidity is below pH 5.5, diseases are prone to occur and the pod-setting rate decreases, so lime should be applied to improve it. Snow peas have deep root systems, are slightly drought-tolerant but not moisture-tolerant, and poor drainage at sowing or during the seedling stage can easily cause root rot; drought during the flowering stage leads to poor fertilization, making it easy to form empty pods or blighted pods. Snow peas should not be continuously cropped, and generally require at least 4-5 years of rotation.

4. Cultivation and sowing timing

According to the growth habit of their stems, snow peas can be divided into three types: dwarf, semi-vining and vining. In the Yangtze River basin, for spring cultivation, sow in mid-to-late February. For autumn cultivation, sow in mid-to-late August. For overwintering cultivation, sow successively from late October to early November. In the north, it is generally spring-plowed and summer-harvested, and can also be used for early spring and autumn cultivation.

Key Points of Greenhouse Cultivation Techniques for Snow Peas

1. Land preparation and sowing. Direct sowing is the main method, with ridge or bed cultivation. Before sowing, apply 2000 kg of organic fertilizer and 20 kg of superphosphate per mu, then plow, level and make ridges or beds. To promote early maturity and lower the flowering node, the seeds can be soaked and sprouted before sowing: soak the seeds at room temperature for 2 hours, then place them at 5°C-6°C for 5-7 days, and sow when the sprouts grow to 5 mm; dry seeds should be watered promptly after sowing. Use drilling: row spacing 30-40 cm, plant spacing 8-10 cm, cover with 2-3 cm of soil; the seeding rate per mu is 15 kg for dwarf types and 12 kg for vining types.

2. Field management. Do not water before emergence; after emergence, during the vegetative growth period, focus on cultivating and weeding, and water appropriately, just enough that the soil does not crack. For vining types, set up trellises when the vines are 30 cm long. Water lightly before budding, and do not water during the flowering stage.

Snow peas have nitrogen-fixing ability and do not need much fertilizer, but most varieties have strong growth vigor and are planted densely, so topdressing is usually needed 3 times. The first is applied during the vigorous vine-growing period, with 15 kg of compound fertilizer per mu, or 400 kg of human manure and urine; during the pod-setting stage, apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, with 15 kg of diammonium phosphate and 5 kg of potassium sulfate or potassium chloride per mu, and the yield-increasing effect is obvious.

When the plants grow to 15 nodes, pinch off the growing tips, and remove the old and yellow leaves at the lower part to improve ventilation and light conditions. To avoid flower and pod drop, you can spray with 30 mg per liter of anti-drop agent.

Snow peas and peas have similar ripening times, and they also basically begin to ripen and go on the market in late spring every year, so people who love snow peas must not miss the freshest batch. In addition, snow peas have now become a vegetable that can be planted all year round, so people who love snow peas can eat them in all four seasons.