Delicious beans are a favorite food of many people, so growing beans is a popular crop in some areas.
However, many people still do not know how to grow them and when to harvest them. When to pick purple hull peas?
Scroll down and check the answer.
What Are The Characteristics Of Purple Hull Peas?
Purple hull peas are annual vines of the pea family (Vigna Unguiculata). Special pigments cause their unique purple color. Although the name may be misleading as it is peas, it is more related to beans.
This food originates from Africa and has durable vitality and good drought tolerance.
The beans are often concentrated in clusters at the top of the tree. The fruit will initially be dark green but gradually turn medium-purple color, pale purple, or magenta color as it ripens.
This variety is quite productive as each fruit can contain 6 to 13 seeds. Purple hull peas are special because of the nutritional value they bring.
It contains many healthy substances such as thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin, high fiber content, and is rich in protein and amino acids.
With a delicious and nutritious taste, it is a favorite food of many people.
You can harvest the fruits when they are young and directly process them into different dishes, Or wait until they reach full maturity to get the seeds.
Their seeds are creamy white in color with a bright red eye in the middle.
When To Pick Purple Hull Peas?
Harvest purple hull peas have differences between varieties. Beans usually ripen from late summer to early fall, 60 – 90 days after growing.
However, you can harvest them while still young, depending on your intended use.
After about 2 months from planting, you can gradually harvest – this is the most anticipated time.
A new batch can be harvested every 2-3 days, so if you plant them a few weeks apart, you can pick them continuously.
When the beans turn purple, it means they are old. To be sure, test the hardness of the seeds by gently squeezing a few.
Firm and plump grains mean purple hull peas ready to pick. Still, mushy or soft sources indicate they are young and need more time.
Weather is also a factor to consider. It would help if you harvested in the afternoon; avoid gathering at noon because dry ripe fruits will fall, increasing harvesting waste.
Hold the fruit and pull it away from the stem gently so as not to damage the young fruit and stem.
After harvesting, it is necessary to dry in the sun for about 3-4 days.
What Are The Types Of Purple Hull Peas?
Beans provide many health benefits, such as lowering cholesterol, increasing beneficial bacteria in the intestines, and reducing blood sugar levels.
That is why agricultural scientists are constantly researching to produce new varieties of purple hull peas.
Today’s varieties are more resistant to disease and more tolerant to drought, yielding better yields than traditional African varieties. Below are some famous names:
- Magnolia: An outstanding tree variety with good disease resistance. Mature fruits are medium in size yellow-green in color, but yield is low.
- Mississippi Purple: This variety is quite hardy and drought-tolerant. Ripe fruits are purple and have high yields. Because the fruit is concentrated at the top of the tree, harvesting also takes less effort.
- Mississippi Silver: A purple hull peas variety with high yield and good disease resistance. Ripe fruit has a silver skin with red streaks. The seeds are creamy yellow with purple eyes.
- Pinkeye Purple Hull: This purple hull pea seeds have pink eyes, not purple. Growth rate and productivity are average.
How To Grow Purple Hull Peas?
The simplest and most effective way to propagate legumes is to grow them from seeds. It would help if you chose healthy, intact seeds, not damaged by insects or old.
Beans in supermarkets are not suitable because they are no longer able to germinate. Choose seeds from specialized seed stores.
To carry out the purple hull peas growing process, we need to follow these steps:
- Soak purple hull pea seeds the night before in clean water
- Till about 7 inches of soil and mix in 2 inches of compost.
- Create seed rows by digging 6-inch deep trenches in the ground. Rows are spaced 25 inches apart.
- If you don’t want to harvest simultaneously, add additional rows to plant later.
- Place stakes 4 inches apart to support the seeds, or use a trellis
- Sow peas in the ground. How far apart do you plant purple hull peas? Each hole is one seed, 1 inch deep and about 4 inches apart. To increase the germination rate, space them 2 inches apart.
- Cover the holes with soil and water.
- Once the seeds have germinated and the seedlings are about 3 Inches Tall, Thin Them Out.
When Is The Best Time For Growing Purple Hull Peas?
The most appropriate time to plant beans is when the factors are ensured for growth. Although purple hull pea varieties are a plant with good drought resistance, they are warm-weather plants.
Thus, it would help if you started sowing seeds in April or May for the plant to grow well and produce high yields.
Late spring and early summer are the ideal times because the weather is quite cool at this time; the soil temperature is only about 60oF, and the frost has passed, so it is not too cold.
These weather conditions help increase germination rates and are beneficial for seedling growth. The warm climates resemble the natural climate where purple hull peas originate.
Farmers should only sow seeds in cold climates after the snow melts, at least about 4 weeks or after there is no more frost, to ensure plant survival.
Those who can grow plants indoors can plant them 6 weeks earlier and then transplant the seedlings to the garden after the weather warms up.
Subsequent showings are two weeks apart, but the latest to plant is 3 months before frost.
What Factors Affect Growing Purple Hull Peas?
They can be used to prepare many different dishes and are convenient; they are a favorite choice to grow in every family. When growing, pay attention to the following important factors:
Type Of Soil
This plant type is not picky about soil but requires well-drained soil, loose soil, preferably light soil, rich in organic matter, pH 6 -7.
Before implementing the planting technique, cleaning weeds and fertilizing the soil with lime and processed composted manure is necessary.
After that, you should dry the ground for a week to kill all the pathogens in the soil.
When the seedlings have 2 true leaves, the roots gradually get used to the environment and start to grow strongly.
Weed, loosen the soil, and fertilize the plants to increase aeration and help the plants grow.
The plant has 3-4 leaves. You can lightly and shallowly dig around the base of the tree and start cultivating the soil for the bottom of the tree.
Once the plant has grown strongly, create ventilation by removing old leaves and other vegetation.
Water
Purple hull peas can survive in irrigated and non-irrigated conditions because they are more drought-tolerant than green bean species.
They tolerate low rainfall because of their strong root system and low transpiration. However, water is still especially important before and after flowering. Wet and dry soil both hurt plant productivity.
The appropriate moist soil is 70-80%, and they are very sensitive to waterlogging and can be damaged if exposed to dew.
At the seed stage, you need to keep good moisture for the seeds to germinate, but do not water too much because it will rot the roots. You should water once a day with a moderate amount of water.
Before flowering: reduce watering by 50% -75% compared to daily watering. This will cause the plant to switch from growth to development, helping the plant produce more flowers.
After flowering: Increase the amount of water given to the plant to increase its ability to bear fruit. You can water 125-150% more water than usual.
Light
Most of these cultivars respond neutrally to day length, but some cultivars have slight differences. Climbing plants respond to shorter days of light.
Purple hull peas love enough light throughout their growth and development—the more light, the higher the yield.
On the contrary, cloudy weather and heavy rain reduce productivity due to the loss of flowers and young fruits.
Generally, a lighting time of 11-13 hours of light/day can satisfy the lighting requirements for flowering plants. They like direct sunlight and do not tolerate shade.
Fertilize
For the plant to grow quickly and yield high yields, you should fertilize the plant every 3 weeks. You should use organic fertilizers and microbial fertilizers.
Depending on each type of fertilizer, apply the appropriate amount.
Pest Prevention
When faced with unfavorable conditions or weak resistance, plants easily encounter pests such as tiny black spots, spider mites, aphids, white spots on leaves, bean beetles, mosaic virus, etc.
Garden owners need to check the condition of trees regularly, detect early signs of disease, and take preventive measures.
Conclusion
When to pick purple hull peas? Because this is a short-term plant, you can start harvesting after 60 – 90 days or sooner if you want to use young fruits.
How to grow beans to achieve good yield depends 90% on the planting and care process of the garden owner.
