Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Okay after some advice on snow peas, when I first got my system I planted snow peas and they did well, they grew to about a metre high but they yielded only a small crop. Theystarted to go white and then just curled up and died,

Its now a month or two later and I planted some snow pea seedlings in last week, but they have all shrivelled up and died.

Now my system is running fairly decently but I did a test today and I noted I do have high salt levels around 4-5ppt, would this be the culprit, my ph is eleveated 7.8, but I wouldnt imagine it would make my plants shrivek and die

Thoughts / advice. Got some new snow peas ready to be replanted but would like to fix the culprit first

I think the problem could that the weather is too hot as I only grow them in winter and they soon curl up when summer comes.The next lot should be OK.You have just reminded me it's time to plant mine.

Yes - they are a cold weather plant. I planted some in October in Houston and they are now yielding a bit, but I have not really tended to them. Plant in late fall and late winter in hot climates. Early spring in moderate climates.

They also would not like 4-5ppt salt, that is for sure.

Yeh Im pretty sure they would not like that salt level either, just trying to work out how to bring it down, the only way I can think off is water changes, but this will be not beneficial to my bacteria

Yeah I put snow peas in a bit early and the heat knocked them for 6. I have just planted more so hopefully they will go well this time.

Once your system is established, small water changes will not affect the bacteria... you might need to do it a few times over a period of time to bring down the salt level...

Ivan the salt BYAP recommends is made up of minerals, plants take up the minerals until
your system is salt free.

Nitrifying bacteria lives on the surfaces of things in well oxygenated environments. Changing the water will do NOTHING to your bacteria as long as you use dechlorinated water. The bacteria don't live in the water.

Snow peas can be tricky. They are a sensitive plant so high salt levels probably are not that good for them (too much fertilizer in hydroponics or dirt gardens can burn them.) They are also a cool weather plant so extreme heat/sun will be hard on them though they do like warm soil for good germination (makes them tricky sometimes.) Frost can also do them some damage though I've found that the plant will usually survive a frost though it might not look so good for it and the frost does kill the flowers so after a frost it many be a while before new pea pods form. I've not actually grown much in the way of peas or beans in my system since I usually want the nitrogen fixing action to help my soil but I have grown jicama in the system.

very tricky I agree TCL
but worth the toil if you have success

Last year around this time I had a huge fence full of snow peas 7 foot high and 25 foot long!!!! But I planted most of them while it was still fairly warm. This year I planted my snow peas and that night we had a sudden early cool front move in and they didn't germinate nearly so well. So this year I just have small plants providing only a few hand fulls of pea pods at a time But they are still good. Worth the effort of trying and trying again!!!!! I have actually been shocked at what the plants seem able to live through. They do best in cool but not frosty weather but I've had plants survive well into summer so long as they get some mid day to afternoon shade. They might not look good but there were still green growing tips on the plants that otherwise looked quite dried up. They also might not produce very well when they are looking that shabby so in the AP system, I would likely replace them with more seasonally appropriate plants. Plant more snow peas during the very end of the hot season so they can germinate well and be ready to take advantage of cool fall weather.

I found that when they look shabby cutting them back heavily promotes new growth and you end up with a whole bunch more flower producing growth, since they already have a root system
Cut back to ground level