I remembered something from Biology when I was younger... :
I remembered Peas are able to collect Nitrogen in the atmosphere which is useful to make proteins. I then remembered that they are classified as a part of a group called Legumes because of this. I thought peas would be therefore very useful in farming because they don't depends on nitrogen-rich/fertislised soil as much as other plants and would also fertilise the soil for future use.
I researched a bit* further on the internet and it reminded me of some things I forgot and learnt some other things. Although a lot of you probably knew these things, I thought it was something noteworthy and pointed it out.
(This is probably very basic for many of you.)
EDIT: I forgot to mention that I'm a bit clueless about this stuff being used in farming as I haven't done any research etc. The point of this thread is less about putting forth an idea and more about someone clarifying what I said, sorry I made it unclear.
Last edited by theoldcowguru on Thu May 08, 2014 9:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Yours is a good subject. The Legume family is great. They grow in poor soil, and the yield can be heavier than many other crops,when you consider nutritional value. Into that group are beans of all types as well as peas. They store well and many grow vertically, thus inceasing use of small spaces. Bear in mind also that Legumes are high in protein, and are used in many cultures and cuisines. Vegetarians use the Legumes as a protein substitute (normally found in meat), and one I enjoy even though J am a card- carrying carnivore!
Thanks for sharing,and reminding us of an easily-grown foodstuff.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.
Robert Frost.
Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.
If you aren't growing Wheat and Barley, here is a more vegetably version
Year 1 - Legumes
Year 2 - Brassicas - Brocolli, cabbage, Kale Turnips and swede - these benefit most from the fixed nitrogen
Year 3 - Roots and onions
Year 4 - Potato's, tomato's, peppers
It's true that legumes fix nitrogen, but legumes grown for food still need feeding as the crop takes a lot of fertility out of the soil. Where they are useful is that in fixing nitrogen they don't need well-composted material. I've grown peas very well in compost trenches - kitchen compost straight into the ground, peas sown in soil on top. Mr. Fox likes to dig it up though. They will only fix enough nitrogen for themselves though - it's a bit of a myth that they leave lots of nitrogen behind.
They will only fix nitrogen well if the correct bacteria are already present in the soil. You can tell this by digging the plant up - if the nodules on the root are pinkish-red, then the bacteria are present. If only white or cream, then no bacteria are present. The soil can be inoculated with the correct bacteria though.
Legumes are good as pioneer plants in areas of poor fertility. Lucaena Leucocephala is a fast growing fodder tree often grown in semi-arid regions as it does ok in poor soil, grows quickly, fixes the soil, provides fodder for animals and cover for other plants.
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oh how they used to farm before chemicals.......