One of the most fun parts of my job is working with the Master Gardener Volunteers in our Demonstration Garden. The gardens include an herb garden, drought tolerant and native ornamental plants, roses, fruit trees, and vegetables. The Master Gardener Volunteers do a fantastic job of maintaining the garden and growing all kinds of plants that will do well in our area.
Over the last year, our Vegetable Garden team started conducting research demonstration trials on various vegetable crops. Our goal is to compare different varieties, some old favorites and some new varieties, to see which ones do well in Williamson County. We started with a lettuce trial last fall, and we have moved into a fall tomato crop and southern peas. We will be planting strawberries in the coming days and Asian greens, lettuce, and spinach later this fall.
Last week we wrapped up the variety trial for southern peas, and that has been so much fun! The Master Gardeners selected six varieties of peas to try out in the garden: Zipper Cream, Texas Cream 40, Lady Cream, Top Pick Brown Crowder, CT Dimpled Brown Crowder, and Mississippi Purple Brown Crowder. My only experience with southern peas is black-eyed peas and purple-hull peas, probably typical of most Texans. I really enjoyed these new varieties!
Pea Variety Trial Report
Peas are a great crop to grow because they give back to the soil. Peas are in the legume family, which means they fix nitrogen from the atmosphere into the soil. Nitrogen is a vital nutrient for plant growth. Usually we must fertilize vegetable crops with a nitrogen source to make sure the plant has enough nitrogen to produce a good crop. Legumes produce all their own nitrogen, and usually leave some in the soil. Legumes are great to include in your crop rotation.
Aphids were the biggest pest problem we faced, but we were able to treat them by spraying the plants with the water hose to knock them off and using insecticidal soap. Rodents were also an issue, but a rat trap and some bait stations took care of that problem!
Zipper Cream, Texas Cream 40, and Lady Cream were the top producers in our trial. I can personally testify that they were the best tasting, too! We have a report of the trial posted on our website if you would like to know more about how to grow peas, yields of the different varieties, and details about pest control. Visit our website at https://williamson.agrilife.org/horticulture-blog/ to see the full report.
For more information about gardening and other horticulture topics, contact Kate Whitney, Horticulture Extension Agent for Williamson County, at 512-943-3300.
