Black-eyed Pea

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

, Thrips

Thrips

Thysanoptera

Silvery streaking with black specks — the specks are how you tell them from mites.

, Caterpillars

Caterpillars

Lepidoptera larvae

Holes, droppings, and a pest you can simply pick off by hand.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

, Minute pirate bugs

Minute pirate bugs

Anthocoridae

Two to three millimetres, and both stages hunt — thrips and spider mites, thirty a day.

to keep them in check — plant African MarigoldGreat, French MarigoldGreat and CosmosGood nearby.

Growing from seed

Direct-sow Black-eyed Pea outdoors about 2 weeks after your last frost, keeping seeds in warm soil (around 20–25 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 8 days. Grow in full sun, spaced about 10 cm apart. Expect to harvest in roughly 75 days.

Keep track of the seeds you own.

Companion Planting

• 
  African Marigold
  

  African MarigoldGreat pair

  • ❧African Marigold attracts Hoverflies and Lacewings and more, which prey on the Aphids and Thrips that attack Black-eyed Pea
  • ❧Black-eyed Pea fixes nitrogen in the soil that African Marigold feeds on
  • ❧African Marigold suppresses pests that trouble Black-eyed Pea
• 
  French Marigold
  

  French MarigoldGreat pair

  • ❧French Marigold attracts Hoverflies and Lacewings and more, which prey on the Aphids and Thrips that attack Black-eyed Pea
  • ❧Black-eyed Pea fixes nitrogen in the soil that French Marigold feeds on
  • ❧French Marigold suppresses pests that trouble Black-eyed Pea
• 
  Allard's Lavender
  

  Allard's LavenderGreat pair

  • ❧Allard's Lavender attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Thrips and more that attack Black-eyed Pea
  • ❧Black-eyed Pea fixes nitrogen in the soil that Allard's Lavender feeds on
  • ❧Black-eyed Pea draws Bees that improve pollination for both

How to grow Black-eyed Pea

1. Sow2 weeks from frost
2. Germinates8 days
3. Space10 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~75 days

Water: Low · Height: 60 cm · Soil: Well-draining, sandy — drought-tolerant