snow peas good for the soil?

[frdnicholas]

I read somewhere that peas help the soil with something to do with nematodes? Will snow peas do the same? When they are finished, should I leave the roots in the soil when I cut down the finished plant? (I wasn't sure where to post this)

 

[Chuck]

I read somewhere that peas help the soil with something to do with nematodes? Will snow peas do the same? When they are finished, should I leave the roots in the soil when I cut down the finished plant? (I wasn't sure where to post this)

Snow peas are very prone to harmful nematodes. I know of nothing that sweet peas do to control nematodes. Sweet peas are a legume and is a nitrogen fixing plant. The entire plant is beneficial to the soil.

 

[frdnicholas]

Ah, so nitrogen fixing plant. When it finished, would it help to cut it up and mix it into the soil?

 

[Chuck]

Ah, so nitrogen fixing plant. When it finished, would it help to cut it up and mix it into the soil?

It would be a big help

 

[frdnicholas]

My friend bought and added what he said were beneficial nematodes to his soil. Has anyone else done this, or have a reliable source for these?

 

[Chuck]

My friend bought and added what he said were beneficial nematodes to his soil. Has anyone else done this, or have a reliable source for these?

I have only used them to control fleas but there are many many uses for them. I do not know if there is a variety that controls harmful nematodes though. There are 2 types a gardener can buy. The powdered form and the live nematodes on a little blue sponge. I know of no one who has had success with the powdered form. Beneficial nematodes come from some place in Colorado but in all reality buying a single sponge of nemetodes would be too expensive. Most real nurserys will have them. They must be kept refridgerated and since they are alive do not purchase if older than 10 days. They really do work though.

 

[Meadowlark]

I read somewhere that peas help the soil with something to do with nematodes? Will snow peas do the same? When they are finished, should I leave the roots in the soil when I cut down the finished plant? (I wasn't sure where to post this)

Yes, snow peas will help build soils...but in zone 8b you will get much more powerful soil building from field (cow) peas. I grow them all summer as a cover crop and to harvest for the table. I like to mow and regrow several times over the summer letting the peas reseed themselves....a very powerful soil building technique.

Control/prevention of harmful nematodes can easily be accomplished by planting Elbon rye in winter as a cover crop.

 

[Meadowlark]

Ah, so nitrogen fixing plant. When it finished, would it help to cut it up and mix it into the soil?

Yes absolutely and if you want to reseed it for free just leave some of the peas on the vine and then shred. I often have 4 generations of field peas over a summer from just one seeding...seed, grow, mow, regrow, mow, regrow, mow, regrow, mow and disc. Powerful soil building.

 

[headfullofbees]

The nitrogen fixing is an urban myth; peas can fix nitrogen from the air, but use it themselves.

The plants have only their compost value.
are
Also: sweet peas and peas are not the same thing, sweet peas do not produce edible pods or peas, they are flowers shaped like pea flowers but larger and scented

Sweet pea - Wikipedia

 

[headfullofbees]

My friend bought and added what he said were beneficial nematodes to his soil. Has anyone else done this, or have a reliable source for these?

I buy slug-killing nematodes every year & have done so for about a decade.

See "Nemaslug"

 

[Meadowlark]

The nitrogen fixing is an urban myth; peas can fix nitrogen from the air, but use it themselves.

The plants have only their compost value.

Urban myth, huh? That's one of the dumbest things I have ever seen on this forum. Science says that nitrogen-fixing plants like peas have roots that are colonized by certain bacteria that extract nitrogen from the air and convert or “fix” it into a form required for their growth. When the bacteria are done with this nitrogen, it becomes available to the plants, themselves in a symbiotic relationship between plant and bacteria. Nitrogen-fixing plants release nitrogen back into the air after they die, making it available to other live plants. Plants in the legume family are known to be nitrogen-fixing. By exploiting the process of nitrogen fixation, you can obtain this plant nutrient for your soil without resorting to chemical fertilizers.

 

[headfullofbees]

Myth 6: Pea and bean roots feed the soil
Peas and beans are members of the legume family. Legumes use soil bacteria to fix nitrogen from the air onto their roots. Logic follows that you should leave the roots of old peas and beans in the soil to feed the next crop, especially nitrogen-hungry vegetables such as cabbage. However your peas or beans will have used almost all the nitrogen up themselves. Most of the nitrogen collects in the picked pods, leaving very little in the soil. To get the most from any nitrogen in the plants the whole plant should instead be added the compost heap or dug into the ground before they flower and begin to draw on the nitrogen fixed at their roots.

7 Common Gardening Myths Debunked (growveg.co.uk)

This is a good practice, but it needs to be noted that they ploughed or dug the legume crop into the soil before it reached maturity and started flower and produce seeds.

Legumes do add nitrogen to the soil but less if you eat them - iCultivate Articles

Research Busts Legume 'Myth' - southburnett.com.au

Dumb, eh?

 

[Meadowlark]

You wrote: " The nitrogen fixing is an urban myth ". Yes, absolutely that is a dumb statement. Totally wrong. Not supported by science...even your own.

" Legumes do add nitrogen to the soil but less if you eat them " ... LOL at contradicting your own statement. This is well known by most who use this practice. More times you do it, the more total N2 is added to the soil.

"Research Busts Legume Myth:" Trial crops showed that the legumes tested had a higher nitrogen “export” (ie. nitrogen in the crop) which offset their potential for nitrogen fixation in the soil (ie. the nitrogen left behind after the crop). Of course, the N2 fixing plants use more for themselves than they leave behind...but clearly they leave N2 behind.

So what "myth" is busted? I know no one who claims that plants that fix N2 don't also use some of that N2. My approach of growing and shredding four consecutive generations of nitrogen fixing peas works...and it absolutely is not an urban myth.

 

[Meadowlark]

I read somewhere that peas help the soil with something to do with nematodes? ....

Another aspect to the use of peas for soil building is in companion planting. I've had one of the highest productivity ratios ever in my potato production when I've used companion planting with peas, in spite of it being declared an "urban Legend", LOL.

See the thread @ Cover crop and rotation results...for 2020 potatoes | Gardening Forums (gardening-forums.com)

I measure potato productivity in terms of pounds of new potatoes produced per pound of seed potato. A ratio higher than 10 is exceptional, about 9 is average. When I companion planted with sweet peas, the ration was 11.4.

Peas don't add anything to the soil? Ridiculous. Try it for yourself and see if it is a so called urban legend.

 

[headfullofbees]

You wrote: " The nitrogen fixing is an urban myth ". Yes, absolutely that is a dumb statement. Totally wrong. Not supported by science...even your own.



"Research Busts Legume Myth:" Trial crops showed that the legumes tested had a higher nitrogen “export” (ie. nitrogen in the crop) which offset their potential for nitrogen fixation in the soil (ie. the nitrogen left behind after the crop). Of course, the N2 fixing plants use more for themselves than they leave behind...but clearly they leave N2 behind.

So what "myth" is busted? I know no one who claims that plants that fix N2 don't also use some of that N2. My approach of growing and shredding four consecutive generations of nitrogen fixing peas works...and it absolutely is not an urban myth.

"" Legumes do add nitrogen to the soil but less if you eat them " ... LOL at contradicting your own statement. This is well known by most who use this practice. More times you do it, the more total N2 is added to the soil."
Contradiction? I wrote in my first post (& you quoted)
"
The nitrogen fixing is an urban myth; peas can fix nitrogen from the air, but use it themselves.

The plants have only their compost value. "

The plants at that stage would count as greens, so there WOULD be nitrogen in that.
In order to get the type of benefit you suggest you'd have to plant them solely as a cover crop.

As for your potato yields; this is personal anecdotal evidence totally akin to stating that men are not taller than women because my sister is 6 ft tall. As evidence it is worthless, & my yields, with nary a pea in sight, were far greater. Your yields were probably boosted by the chance factor of it being a good year, but if there was a macronutrient effect on yields, it would be far more likely be from higher available potassium or phosphate levels, than from nitrogen, whose main effect would be on the potato foliage.

I have shown evidence in the form of recent scientific research by the Queensland Department of Agriculture & Fisheries that supports my position.

What have you got?