Good idea for starting peas

[Robert_Brenchley]

http://www.patnsteph.net/weblog/2010/03/starting-peas-indoors/

[allaboutliverpool]

A good idea although I do not seem to have much difficulty with pea germination.

[Ian Pearson]

Also works well with beans and sweetcorn. Care required with timing tho'. If the sprouts get too long before you plant them, they can break off during handling.

[grawrc]

Also, despite what it says, the mice do eat them.

[Robert_Brenchley]

They will if they're hungry enough, but once spring arrives they're less likely to bother. I don't have problems with pea germination myself, but every year we get people having difficulties, and this may be a way round it.

[dtw]

I have done this in the past and found that after soaking, it's the green peas that are more likely to germinate.
As you will get yellow ones in the same batch.
The yellowness shows up more clearly after soaking.

[InfraDig]

I have tried this chitting idea this year with broad beans, peas, parsnips and even carrots. They all chitted okay, in the airing cupboard, but planting has been of limited success. I think the temperature in my unheated greenhouse was still to low for whatever chemical changes (enzymes and stuff!) need to take place. A chemist friend of mine was trying to explain it to me, but I glazed over!

[Bugloss2009]

did it last year. Great success. Very high germination, and no losses after I planted them out (either mice or root damage)

you have to be careful that the roots don't grow too long, and the soil you plant them in should be fine and not lumpy to avoid damage. Also don't wait to plant them all out at the same time. By the time they've all started growing, the first ones to sprout will probably be too big to transfer easily