Saturday, June 25, 2011

Pinkeye Purple Hull Pea Pests

Pinkeye Purple Hull Pea Pests, try saying that fast a few times. These "southern" peas are one of my favorites and I have planted two different beds full of them. One of the beds is at 5 days and one is at 40 days since planting. I planted these 3 inches apart, and they really fill out the beds and get bushy. I am having problems with cowpea aphids on the older planting.

Today I tried spraying them with soapy water as I have read that helps. The problem is that the pea leaves make a nice canopy at the top of the plant, and the aphids hang out on the actual stems of the plant. Since this is not a traditional row planting, there is not an easy way to get to the stems of each plant without moving each one.   Does anyone have any experience in dealing with this problem? Any suggestions are appreciated.

This is the bed with the pests, you can see how bushy they are

This is the freshly planted bed, these peas love the heat.
 

  Here is one of the stems covered in aphids
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4 comments:

  1. engineeredgardenJune 26, 2011 at 11:47 AM

    Kris - the trick is to plant them in rows (no more than 4)a foot apart, which lets you have access to the plants when bugs arrive. Also, they will actually vine, too - and can be grown up a trellis for better access....

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  2. KrisJune 26, 2011 at 12:54 PM

    Thanks EG, I will keep that in mind for my next batch that I plant. That makes sense now that you mention it. Thanks.

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  3. CindyJune 27, 2011 at 5:13 PM

    I planted mine in rows. Try that.

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  4. KrisJune 27, 2011 at 9:17 PM

    I will Cindy, thanks.

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