[Snoop]

Last autumn, I sowed some Douce Provence peas. They suffered badly over the winter with cold and snow. Some I kept under plastic, some I had to leave uncovered after the snow ruined my cloches.

The row not under plastic has not put out many flowers but is growing well. Those that I managed to keep under plastic have been flowering like mad and producing pea pods.

We've had some unusually warm spells, followed by the typical perishing cold for this time of year. At the moment, it's unseasonably warm (nights of plus 11ºC) but we'll probably get frosts again through to mid-April, if not beyond.

I noticed a couple of days ago that the pea pods were looking oddly speckled. Since then, the outer skin or parchment around the pods seems to have split and in many cases even come away from the pod. I can't see any pests at all on the plants, though goodness only knows what's been pollinating them under the plastic. I've opened a few of the pods: there aren't many peas in each one and they're still extremely small, though sweet and tender.

Is this problem with the outer skin likely to be due to the sudden drop in temperatures (minus 6ºC and lower), pests, inadequate watering or poor feeding?

Thanks for any advice.

[Trillium]

I've never bothered growing peas through very cold weather so I'm not overly familiar with problems like yours but it does sound like the peas reacted to the extremes in temperature by splitting. And as you suggest, there's probably lack of food for them or the ability of the roots to absorb any food.

Only other possibility, which I'm not sure is the reason,  is fusarium wilt and  root-rot disease which are the yellowing and wilting of the lower leaves and stunting of the plants. Infection of older plants usually results in the plants producing only a few poorly filled pods. These diseases are not as prevalent on well-drained soils. Double-dug raised beds amended with abundant organic matter can greatly improve soil aeration and drainage.

[Tattyanne456]

I'm no expert, but I would suspect that the extreme fluctuating temperatures were to blame. the atmosphere around the peas becoming very humid, developing droplets on the plant which then go very cold causing damage. As I said I am no expert. Are you able to easily remove the plastic during the day, and then recover for the night?

[Snoop]

Thanks for your replies and advice. I remove the plastic during the day, but cover back up at night. Last night we had a light frost, but I left them uncovered. They survived fine.

It's an interesting way to learn a lesson: the peas I left uncovered following the snow have not flowered very strongly, so will presumably do better later on than those under plastic that have sprinted ahead.

To be honest, I'd rather it was the effect of the cold rather than a pest!