What Kind of Fertilizer Is Best for Planting Crowder Peas?

Seeds

• Like other types of legumes, crowder pea plants produce their own nitrogen in nodules contained in their roots. If you've never grown crowder peas or other types of Southern peas in the garden bed, inoculate the seeds with the proper strain of Rhizobium bacterium, according to the type of pea. The bacteria helps the peas form nodules and fix nitrogen.

Soil pH

• Performing a soil test is the best way to figure out what kind of fertilizer your crowder peas need. The local agricultural extension office will likely provide testing if you bring in a soil sample. Crowder peas prefer a soil pH of 5.5 to 6.5, and you may need to adjust your soil pH to either increase or reduce the pH. If your soil pH is higher than 7.5 and rich in calcium, crowder peas will not grow well there. If your soil pH is less than 5.5, you may need to amend your soil with lime according to the test results. Avoid planting crowder peas in soils where you've grown a recent crop of other plants that add large amounts of nitrogen to the soil.

Fertilizer

• In the absence of a soil test, apply fertilizer to the soil bed about one week to 10 days before planting. Apply no more than 2 to 3 lbs. of 5-10-10 NPK fertilizer per 100 feet of row. Alternatively, you can apply the fertilizer in a band about 2 to 3 inches away from the seeds and about 3 to 4 inches deep in the soil after planting the seeds. Another option is applying 3 lbs. of 10-10-10 NPK fertilizer per 100 feet of row, either one week before planting or right after planting the seeds.

Considerations

• Because crowder peas make their own nitrogen, these plants are sensitive to over-fertilizing. Too much nitrogen promotes excessive vine growth and poor pod formation. Crowder peas actually return nitrogen to the soil, so you may plant them as soil-building or soil-enriching summer crops, followed by heavy nitrogen-feeding plants in a fall garden.