Topic: Peas and beans amazed

[Digeroo]

A few weeks ago in a break in the cold weather I got enthusiastic and planted out some chitted peas and broadbeans under bottle cloches.  I had long since written them off as another of my gardening mistakes.

Well Sundays little bit of sunshine got them excited, and up they have popped and a good percentage of my plastic bottles have a little splash of green in them.

 

[Squash64]

Isn't Nature wonderful!

I sowed broad beans outside last November and they all
germinated.  They were about 4 inches high before the recent snow
and I thought they would have all died but no, they seem to be ok.   

[galina]

Both peas and broad beans are capable of withstanding a little frost, especially under cloches.  French beans on the other hand not.

Congratulations to both - here is to early harvests!   

[markfield rover]

Good for the soul too, on such cold grey days it really does wonders .

[Robert_Brenchley]

Broadies will withstand most things bar waterlogging. With peas it depends on the variety. Round-seeded ones are pretty hardy, and some at least will come through the winter. Wrinkle seeded ones will often rot in cold ground, so you may have been lucky.

[chriscross1966]

Reminds me I need to harden off the broadies now so they can go out... we're past the weather that will kill them.....

[Digeroo]

The peas were all very hardly sorts:  snow peas, latvian xmas peas, oregon snap,  purple podded etc.  All pretty touch cookies.  But things have been a bit extreme.  After over a month there was no sign of green so I had very much given up on them.   After two days of sunshine they are already a couple of inches high. 

Would seem they have the measure of the weather even if I have not.