Pea plants turning yellow from the bottom up

[clairebear]

Afternoon all!
Our pea plants have been going great guns up until a few weeks ago when they started to turn yellow at the bottom. This has slowly been spreading up the plants and has stunted the pod development. The pods looked like they were filling up nicely but they seem to have stalled. Are they not managing in this hot weather? Should mention they're in a pot/trough, south east facing.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Have you given them plenty of water?

Potty

[clairebear]

Hi Potty
I'm beginning to wonder if thats the problem. We usually water in the evening and have stuck to that even though the weather is so much warmer. Maybe we should water in a morning too? I hope it's not too late to rescue them if under watering's the cause

[Two_Sheds]

Probably is too late. Containers need water twice a day in a heatwave. What would also help you would be to use a bit of topsoil in your compost mix, because cheap MPC is too light and fluffy to hold onto much water.

And also use some kind of a mulch to keep moisture in the compost and not evaporating

[Veggielot]

I had some sweet peas in pots that did pretty much the same. The ones in the ground are still fine.

[Potstubsdustbins]

One of the main things I find new container growers do is try to over fill the pots with compost. You should always leave enough room above the surface of the compost to allow plenty of water.

As a guide in my tomato and runner bean buckets I leave a 2" space between the top of the compost and the rim of the bucket. When I water this space gets filled to near overflowing, providing your drainage is up to spec you will not damage the plant roots and they always get plenty of water.

Another thing to look out for is if the water runs straight through the container and out the bottom. This is a sure sign of under watering and that the compost is dry. Should this happen you will have to give the compost half an hour to absorb some moisture and then return and water again.

Potty

[Barking Postlethwaite]

Water will undoubtedly be a problem for them, but I think temperature will be an important factor too. I have peas planted in moisture-retentive, well-irrigated open ground and they have cropped reasonably well (but not great) but only over a more restricted timescale. They finished and turned yellow much earlier than normal; water shouldn't have been an issue, but I suspect they just got too hot and turned up their toes. It's been over 30C out there for several consecutive days.

[Thelma Sanders]

That's what I think, peas are a cool weather crop - not for growing in aheatwave

[Potstubsdustbins]

Heat wave or not water makes the difference.

Potty

[Thelma Sanders]

Tell that to mine They've been watered every few days and they're in the ground *shakes head*

[Potstubsdustbins]

Because mine are in a container they dry out quite quickly therefore I have to water more often.

Recently its been every day wonder if that makes a difference.

Potty