Topic: A place for newbies to introduce themselves.

[Silverleaf]

Hi, I'm new!

I've had a gardening hiatus due to illness (fibromyalgia) for a few years and I really want to get back into growing veggies. I have two now-overgrown raised beds which I used square-foot style, both 4' x 18', and a 4'x6' greenhouse. I'd like to put in a smaller herb bed too if I can find the energy.

I absolutely love peas, and I'm very interested in growing unusual ones. I'm planning on trying my first crosses this year, basically crossing a few different kinds just to see what happens. I have Golden Sweet, Purple Podded, Waverex, Sugar Ann and Sugar Bon and I'm still deciding on a "normal" green pea (Alderman or Telephone probably) so that'll give me quite a few options to play with! I seriously covet the beautiful Salmon Flowered crown peas I've seen on a few blogs but they seem to be impossible to buy. :(

When I'm not doing gardening things you'll usually find me playing hobby board games (sometimes called German games and definitely not like Monopoly and Scrabble) or role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, singing in my three choirs, making jewellery, crocheting, birdwatching, or cooking/baking.

I live in Chesterfield with my boyfriend, an old black Labrador and an indoor Netherland Dwarf rabbit.

So yeah. Hello!

[goodlife]

Hello there!

...and welcome.
Wow..even with your illness...you seem to be 'busy body' and have great list of hobbies in you life
We have people here from all walks of lives and growers of all sorts...pea 'experts' too...so you are welcome to 'talk' about anything and everything.
'Dive in' and  rattle....perhaps you find time to do gardening too..

[Jayb]

Hello and Welcome to Allotments4All 
Lovely sounding selection of peas you have there, Alderman is my favourite of the two.
The little I've done with pea breeding is both interesting and absorbing, good luck with your project 

[Silverleaf]

Thanks for the welcome! This looks like a lovely friendly site and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in to reading as many threads as I can - we can always learn something new, right?

I studied genetics at university so that'll certainly help, although I was a zoologist rather than a botanist. I have to admit that the idea of following in Mendel's footsteps really appeals to me, and I'm fascinated to learn more about how all those strange genes interact.

Wouldn't it be awesome to have a rainbow of ornamental but useful crown peas with different coloured flowers and pods, that you could grow in the flower bed but then have a useful crop of vegetables from it too?

I'm hoping I'll have enough seed saved from the peas I have to be able to give some away at the end of this year. I don't think any of them are earth-shatteringly rare or anything, but I obtained (some of) them because they are interesting so I guess others might feel the same way. And I love to share!

[caroline7758]

Welcome, Silverleaf! I've never had success with peas but I'm going to try again this year. Do you have any tips?

[Silverleaf]

Welcome, Silverleaf! I've never had success with peas but I'm going to try again this year. Do you have any tips?

You mean growing or crossing? ;)

I always start my peas off inside in pots, since I don't like risking them rotting or getting eaten by mice. Other than that they just grow, with no real effort required! Tall ones work better for me than dwarf ones in general, it might just be the varieties I chose but the ones that claim not to need support flopped all over each other and got mildew. I did get a crop but the tall plants survived much longer.

Maybe ask people who have been successful in growing peas in your area what varieties work well for them?

[caroline7758]

Thanks. How big should they be before planting out?

[Silverleaf]

Just a few centimetres is fine. Once they properly germinate they seem much more resistant to going mouldy and I hear the mice prefer them ungerminated.

Don't leave them too long though otherwise they flop over and tangle with each other and then you might break them planting them out - they'll recover but it's best to have whole plants!

Since they grow so fast I only normally have time to give them a few days of hardening off before they get planted. They seem to go from nothing to healthy little plants in no time at all!

[galina]

Welcome to the group, Silverleaf. 

If you would like a few seeds of salmon flowered peas, send me a pm with your address. 

[Silverleaf]

Wow Galina, thank you, that's very kind! :)

[Alipip]

Hello and welcome, I too don't have much luck with peas, I can grow them ok but then they get little bugs in the pods, look like tiny maggots. What is this and how can I avoid it???? Have got some more to plant this year, I usually start them off in guttering, then tip them into their growing place.

[easyonthebrain]

Hi, Apologies for not introducing myself earlier, I have just managed to obtain a plot for the first time and am just finishing off the digging just now. Only one and half beds to go. I am 55 years old, live and work in the Central Scotland area so climate is fair and have dabbled in growing veg in pots etc for the past couple of years and really enjoyed it. Still learning my way and still loads of puzzles to overcome. 

[goodlife]

Hello from me too..
Learning is something one never complete and puzzles never ending...but if you have managed to grow 'stuff' in pots..growing on ground in larger scale should not be too difficult...just needs more muscle power.
Only 'one and half beds to go'...well done.. Is it haggis that keeps you going..?
How big is your plot?

[Jayb]

Welcome again from me too 
Congrats on all your hard work with your plot, what have you got planned to grow this year?

[easyonthebrain]

Thanks for the welcome, most appreciated, the plot I inherited had been well looked after by a guy called Amos until he just couldn't manage it so I was lucky in that aspect. Still needed work but not as much as some of the other plots on offer. Been up up to see him and he gave me his rotation plan and this year trying about 5 first earlies, and a couple of second earlies, usual suspects, carrots, onions, giving kale and purple sprouting broccoli another shot. On the unusual side I am trying Oca for the first time. I have plans to try some sweetcorn, peas, and beans on a grander scale so fingers crossed. Looking forward to the extra space lol

[galina]

Hi Alipip and Welcome!

There is a way to avoid pea maggots, which is timing.  The early crops don't get them.  This is why I changed my sowing time to mid to late February indoors, transplant out a month later.  Most of my  peas are harvested before the maggots get active.  Peas harvested in June are just about always free of maggots, during July the problem gets worse.

You could also cover in fleece and that is said to work.  The problem with fleecing is that the peas get warm.  They are cool weather crops and quickly perish in hot weather.  Fleece makes this worse.

You could grow mangetouts only.  These are harvested so young, that the maggots inside haven't developed yet.

 

Welcome Easyonthebrain too!

To us 'Southeners' it seems a huge challenge to garden where you do.  Wonder what your puzzles are.  Not that I would be able to give any advice.  Forgive my ignorance, but can you grow any of the warm weather crops, like courgettes, cucumbers or tomatoes?  The hardier runner beans? Good luck with the sweet corn.   Looking forward to your posts and reports. 
  

[marie.m.lee.75]

Hi everyone, I'm not really new, I just cant get logged in under my previous name (scotchmist), so if anyone has any ideas how to get me back to normal,  lol,  I'd appreciate it, .....thanks x

[Jayb]

You have a couple of personal messages, hopefully we can get it sorted 

[scotch-mist]

Hi everyone, I'm not really new to this site, I've just been offline for ages, and then had to sign in as marie.m.lee.75 as I couldn't remember my password for my email account linked to this site, bt thanks to BT, they have reactivated my old email account....after 3 hours spent online to India....roflmao...but it was worth it just to get back on here... x

[Jayb]

Welcome back Scotch-mist, glad you managed to get it sorted