Pea growth appears to be stunted

[TheGoatRustler]

Hello,

I'm trying to grow some Ceresa Peas in a shallow bed. The peas were sown on the 11th of April and planted out at the end of April. According to the packet instructions, the peas should be ready at around 14 weeks after sowing.

The peas hardly seem to have grown in the time they've been outside, only around 5cm. (They are about 10-15cm tall at present) The plants appear to look healthy but are just rather small. The weather has been fairly good here, mostly sunny but we've had some strong winds. I'm thinking that the problem is because the bed is too shallow? It's only about 15cm deep. I can move them to a deeper bed if that is the problem, but I was just wondering if it's too late for that now?

Thanks,
Tom

[Mark_Riga]

I wouldn't move them now. But keep the bed well watered and give them a feed if you can. I use a home made comfrey feed and an occasional boost of miracle grow. They would probably do better in a deeper bed but 6" is not too bad a depth but the sun and wind would be drying it out quite quickly now.
I've got a row of peas that is half in very fertile soil and the rest in a lot poorer. If you look at the poor half first they don't look too bad but when you compare with the rest of the row they look quite puny so fertility is key to getting a really good crop.

[ameno]

I do find peas can sometimes take a while to get going again after transplanting, but not usually that long.
To be honest, I would suspect root issues. Take a close look at the stems where they meet the ground. They ought to be green. If they are any shade of yellow, brown or black, then they may well have a type of foot root. Sometimes this is fatal, although it usually takes quite a while to actually finish them off, other times the plants eventually recover, but it takes them a while and they remain stunted for several weeks.
Another possibility is that something is eating the roots.

[bramble]

I would leave them where they are now.
keep them well watered, it has been hot and breezy.
Give thrm a feed and be ready to put in supports when they start growing.

[nickdub]

Agree with the others, leave them where they are. The problem is most likely lack of rain, as it has been exceptionally dry for this time of year - peas will put up with a lot in terms of cold, hot, wind etc, but they will not cope if their roots are too dry. Whether they will start growing again if watered well I don't know - it may be too late for this sowing to recover.


If you have more seed, try starting a few in pots then when they are a few inches tall you can dot potfulls of them around in your garden wherever you have the space - sod's law says we'll be getting downpours of biblical proportions by then.

Happy Gardening :-)

[TheGoatRustler]

Thanks all. I'll leave them where they are then. Hopefully, plenty of water and some feed can help revive them!