When do i pick purple hull peas

Certain diseases can remain on the seeds and remain viable until the next planting season. Remove the purple hull peas from the pods as soon as possible. Discard any seeds that are deformed, shriveled, have insect damage or mold or mildew on the surface. Spread the healthy seed in a single layer on dry newspaper in a dry well-ventilated place for another days to completely dry.

Place the seeds in a glass jar and tightly cover the jar with the lid. With a permanent marker write the date and any other important information, such as the location they were growing in the garden, on the jar. Native to Africa, the average plant grows to between 20 inches to one foot tall and when mature, they are semi-busy. Around mid-summer, the pods start to develop in clusters at the top of the plant. Each pod is between 6 to 8 inches long and contains up to 13 beans at a time.

The pods start dark green but ripen into either light green or purple shades. There are two ways you can eat purple hull peas. The other way is to wait for the beans to grown and reach maturity inside the pods. They acquire a creamy color with a magenta eye in the middle when fully ripe and you can harvest and store them in a dry place. Over the years and through trial and error, more cultivars were developed that have a high tolerance to drought and are disease-resistant.

But mostly, the new cultivars have a better yield annually than the original species that grew in Africa. Here are some of the top purple hull peas cultivars to grow in your garden. When choosing the right variety or cultivar of purple hull peas, always make sure that it grows well in your zone. Most of the cultivars in that list do well in the Southern parts of the country. As with other legumes, the easiest and most efficient way to grow purple hull peas is to start them from seeds.

Make sure you get your seeds from a good source and that the seeds are not old. Watering is important for these legumes as well as sunlight and fertilizing. Shell the peas immediately after harvest. They can be kept fresh in the fridge for a few days, frozen, or dehydrated for long-term storage. Growing Purple Hull Peas 5 min by Garden. Share article on Facebook Share article on Pinterest. You may also like. When to Plant Purple Hull Peas.

Growing Sweet Peas. Growing Snow Peas. Set out a bowl or colander to catch your bounty. Pick up a pod and squeeze it so that the side seam opens. Pull the pod apart and let the peas drop into your waiting container. Fertilizing Legumes Pea and bean seeds are sensitive to direct contact with fertilizer but germinating seeds need nutrients, including nitrogen, until the nodules form on the roots. It is best to place fertilizer into a 2- to 4-inch-deep trench approximately 2 to 4 inches to the side of the planting furrow.

Green peas don't need a trellis , but pods will be easier to pick when vines are held upright. If you're using a trellis , insert it prior to planting. Use netting, stakes, and string, a wood frame trellis covered with chicken wire, metal fencing, or a collection of twiggy branches stuck into the ground among the plants. Peas are an easy and satisfying garden plant to grow, but sugar snap peas really like to grow and can top 8 feet in height.

Unless you enjoy climbing on things to harvest them, limit your trellises and teepees to a more manageable 6 feet, and let the vines flop down when they reach the top. Wait to harvest until the pods are dry , brown and you can see the beans almost bursting through the pods. Shell the pods and allow the peas to dry thoroughly. Store them in an air tight container in a cool, dry area for at least a year. Add the empty hulls to your compost pile. Sometimes seeds need to soak. In this case, the pea seeds need to soak hours before planting.

When you soak your seeds, this helps your seeds to germinate creating a healthy plant. Some seeds need soaking , like peas and beans, but the majority of seeds do not need to be soaked. Soaking pea seeds in water prior to planting softens the seed coats so they germinate faster. Purple Hull peas are a staple in Southern Cuisine.