Topic: beans and peas

[Mrs Ava]

I don't start mine off indoors because my space is precious, and I found last year, by March, they germinated rapidly out on the plot.  I have heard people sowing them in drainpipes, filled with earth, so they can just slide them whole pipe full of earth and peas out into the bed. 

Support, I use twiggy sticks as I have access to MASSES!  Seems to do the trick, so long as you have plenty otherwise they can flop around a bit.  I am a tad generous with my sowing just making a wide 'trench' (not the word but for the life of me I can't think what I want to call it) made by dragging the flat of my spade along the bed, then I scatter the peas...about 5 or 6 in a row, sort of thing, all the way along the bed.  Ooo drill, drill is the word I was looking for! Ha  ;D.  If I were to use canes, I would need loads to tie each pea plant in.  HOWEVER, I am also growing Aldermann this year and they are tall peas, sound similar to bean plants, so I will be supporting them with canes.

[new potter]

does the frost not damage the plants if i sow in march? or do i need to protect them
also can i use any sort of twiggy sticks ???
np

[ruudbarb]

"does the frost not damage the plants if i sow in march? or do i need to protect them
also can i use any sort of twiggy sticks "

Hi np - peas are unlikely to come to harm from frost in the UK when sown in March.  They are not keen on very wet cold conditions and can rot so if you have clay soil in say the more northern parts of the UK and it is wet, put some polythene sheet down for a week or two before sowing and leave it there until you see the green shoots.  Beware of mice though so stick the neighbour's moggy in there as well...........   ;D

The shorter varieties of peas like Kelvedon Wonder grow to about 45 cm [18"] high so you need sticks about 2 feet long and reasonably stiff to hold up the grown peas on a wet windy day.  Taller varieties therefore need longer ones and sticks are infinitely better than netting.  Trim the twiddly side bits back which will help to stiffen them.  I put the sticks in at an angle down one side of the row so that they point along the row and over it.  A second row of sticks is put in along the other side pointing back in the opposite direction and the tops of the two rows of sticks intermeshed to make a rigid support up through which the peas climb.  It's very easy once you twig how to do it.....  8) :D

[gavin]

The "twiggier" the better, and long enough for the expected length of the peas.
  
Birch twigs are good - but anything with lots of branching.  I used branches off a badly over-grown privet hedge one year - worked well, but they all set roots, like well-behaved cuttings should.

All best - Gavin

Hmm - now why aren't my "real" cuttings so well-behaved :(

[ruudbarb]

The best of the lot for pea sticks is elm - if you can find any.  They produce nicely spaced flat branches that are like feathers and make very neat tidy rows. 

[William O]

Over here pea sticks are made of ash...  they last longer ... any idea what is the best time of year to graft an apple on A4A  ;D

[ruudbarb]

Hello William O - sadly most of our elms were reduced to ash following the devastation caused by Dutch Elm disease.    :'( :'( :'(

Grafting apples is usually done in March and budding in July/August but we use rootstocks such as M27, M9 etc in the UK, not message boards........... ;D