Are Austrian winter peas edible?

Are Austrian winter peas edible?

Yes, Austrian winter pea pods are edible and tasty too, but not as good as sweet pea varieties bred specifically for their raw pods. They tend to get stringy quickly so pick them young for fresh eating or let them mature until the pods begin to turn tan in color to harvest as a dry soup pea.

Can horses graze on cover crops?

Some exceptions. There are a few exceptions to the rule that cover crops can be safely eaten by livestock. Hairy vetch is a common cover crop that is not recommended as livestock forage. In cattle and horses, grazing hairy vetch sometimes causes a painful dermatitis across the entire body or neurological signs.

Can you graze winter peas?

Planting Austrian Winter Pea Seed Austrian winter pea is generally a fall seeded cover crop that can be used for grazing, hay or as a green manure.

Do Austrian winter peas need inoculant?

Austrian Winter Peas are a vine-like, cool season annual legume, stems grow 2 to 4 feet long. These winter peas are legumes which add nitrogen into the soil through their root nodules. If your seed is not pre-inoculated you may need to purchase an inoculant with your Austrian Winter Peas ( see below).

Do peas like cold weather?

peas can survive the cold but will suffer some damage. (This is assuming that the cold happens without an insulating blanket of snow.) If snow has fallen and has covered the peas, the plants can tolerate temperatures as low as 10 degrees F. Peas grow best in temperatures no higher than 70 degrees F.

How late can you plant Austrian winter peas?

With regard to planting dates, winter peas should be planted in September through October in the South. In northern states it should be planted in August, or in April for a spring/summer planting. Avoid planting winter pea in pure stands.

Is hairy vetch bad for cattle?

Hairy Vetch is a nitrogen-fixing plant that works well as a cover crop. However, it is not recommended for livestock because of its toxicity to cattle and horses. The mortality rate for affected animals ranges from 50-100%, typically as a result of kidney failure.

Can you graze horses on oats?

It is not a typical horse pasture species, but as with other cereal grains such as rye, barley, and oats, these forage species can be planted on an annual basis to help extend the grazing period. So with proper management of both the crop and the horses, oats can be an effective part of a grazing program for horses.

How do you eat Austrian winter peas?

Super-cold-hardy Austrian winter peas will give you delicious green winter salads and build your soil as a nitrogen-boosting winter cover crop. You can enjoy fresh pea shoots in salads throughout winter, all the way into asparagus season. Even in midwinter, Austrian winter peas stay green and healthy, ready to harvest.

Can you plant winter peas in the spring?

Winter pea is considered a cool-season annual legume, although it can be successfully grown in the spring/summer in cooler regions. It is a low-growing, viney plant that can reach 2- to 4-feet tall, depending on soil fertility and management.

What to plant with Austrian winter peas?

When used as a cover crop, Austrian winter peas are often planted with a mixture of seeds such as oilseed radishes or various types of clover.

How long does it take for Austrian winter peas to germinate?

Peas will sprout in 21 to 30 days if the soil temperature is 38 degrees Fahrenheit and the germination rate, or number of seeds that do sprout, will be low. At temperatures of 65 to 70 F the seeds will sprout within 7 to 14 days and the germination percentage will be in the high 90s for fresh seed.

What are the uses of Austrian winter peas?

Austrian Winter Peas are used as a cover crop, green manure crop, hay crop, silage, grazing, etc. Primarily as a cover crop, provides high quality forage for livestock & deer.

When do you plant Austrian winter pea seeds?

The peas are seeded in September to October. However, if exposed to long periods of sub-zero weather without snow cover, there may be winterkill of the stand. It can also be grown as a spring seeded summer annual sown as early as possible in the spring.

How big are Austrian winter peas in Idaho?

Idaho farmers regularly produce 6,000 to 8,000 lb. DM/A from fall-planted Austrian winter peas. Because the residue breaks down quickly, only peas in the high-production areas build up much long-term organic matter.

What should the pH be for winter peas?

Winter pea is somewhat sensitive to soil pH, thus, the pH needs to be maintained above 6.0, which already needs to be the goal for any food plot to maximize nutritional quality and attraction. Germination of winter peas would be considered moderate relative to other cool-season forages, and grazing resistance would be considered moderate as well.

What can I do with Austrian winter peas?

Austrian Winter Peas are a great cool-season legume crop for wildlife food plots, cover crops, and winter grazing. Plant Winter Peas with a Clover mix for a perfect Fall/Winter plot.

How much nitrogen does Austrian winter pea seed provide?

As fuel prices and consumer awareness rise, farmers are more inclined to let nature do it’s job by planning and planting crops that work together to replenish depleted soils or to avoid depleting perfectly good soil. Austrian winter peas can provide from 90 to 150 lbs of natural nitrogen per acre of land.

How big do Austrian winter peas get in Idaho?

Plant Winter Peas with a Clover mix for a perfect Fall/Winter plot. Austrian Winter Peas are a low-growing, viny legume, which have been shown to fix over 200 pounds of nitrogen per acre, per year, under good conditions in Idaho. It has hollow, slender and succulent stems, 2 to 4 feet long.

How are winter peas good for the soil?

These winter peas accomplish their nitrogen fixing as other legumes, by pulling the nitrogen from the air around them converting this nitrogen into a plant form of nitrogen, and depositing this plant formed nitrogen into the soil with the help of rhizobium bacteria that occur naturally in healthy soils.