Topic: why?

[debster]

Ok you guys are probably used to my stupid questions but here is another one. If I can plant crops take peas for example from march to june and then again from october to november why cant i plant them or any crop with similar plantings in between times who tells the peas what month it is and with our weather so upside down would it matter. now i am sure there is a perfectly logical reason im just curious
and dont worry folks i go back to work on tuesday so you should get some more peace from me  ;D

[Marymary]

I know you will get better informed replies than mine  :) but most of it comes down to the right conditions in terms of day length & temperature which specific plants need.  Most plants we sow in the spring & plant out when days are longer & the soil temp has risen a bit.  Some like peas can be sown in the autumn & they grow a bit over winter then take off in the spring for an early crop. 

Poor you having to go back to work next week.

[Eristic]

You can plant peas throughout most of the year, but not the same ones. Early peas have been selected for their ability to grow well in cooler conditions with shorter daylight while maincrop varieties have been selected partially to cope better with hotter sunny conditions.

Today I had germination of the last of my Alderman (Summer) peas and in a couple of weeks or so I will sow a batch of Pilot (Spring) in case November is mild. This will be followed with at least 2 more sowings this year to overwinter with further successions starting in Feb/Mar next year.

As a general rule, if you are a bit late for a maincrop sowing,it is always worth trying an early variety.

[debster]

so do you think i could get away with another sowing now? i have both hurst greenshaft (which are in and cropping now) and meteor which are said to be ideal for autumn/winter sowing yet say on the back sow october november?

[artichoke]

I sowed a mixed row of snap and mange tout peas 2 weeks ago, and have just put a few pre-germinated seeds in to fill up some small gaps. This is the latest I have sown peas but I am hoping that because it's the pods we'll be eating, rather than wait for them to swell with peas, they'll  be ready sooner than normal peas. And I love the pods. I've also sown pre-germinated climbing and bush beans, hoping for the best, and they are well up.

Very dry at the moment, though.....