Topic: Peas

[saddad]

Bumper year... having spent three hours shelling Freu Heinrich the other week just picked half a carrier bag of Purple podded, shelled them and only one pea moth!!! Put them in the freezer and bagged up the Magnum Bonum from last week and the two sorts of Mangetout. Have some more to top and tail for the freezer as well...
 ;D

[debster]

i have also had a bumper crop of peas but none have made it to the freezer yet. have bought a winter sowing variety too to try

[kitten]

Now you're just showing off saddad  :o  ;D  sounds brill!

We grew too few pea plants this year and didn't support them properly so stunted growth (first year and all) but have still managed a couple of meals worth - next year we're going to quadruple the number of plants and we might even get some in the freezer x

[arphamoe]

I've had a wonderful result with several sowings of different peas, frozen lots but somehow cant seem to get the support systems right! Tried nets, pea-sticks and cord between posts but the weather this year seems to have battered them all down. Still got plenty of pods to pick when full but would welcome advice on most effective way of supporting the peas for next year.
Hardly a bug in any so far but am sure that keeping them upright will only be beneficial. ??? Might even stop them being eaten by whatever before we can get to them!!

[gwynleg]

Yes I would welcome advice on supporting peas too - my first year have had a few meals but think I could have done better. Is it too late now to sow any more - will the dreaded pea moth get them (just starting to get mine now)?
Thanks

[powerspade]

I grow my peas on pig wire streched across the plot, been down picking peas this evening and got 4 bags full, this is my best year ever

[saddad]

A friend on the next site has a large metal frame and wire affair... That's where I am going next!
 ;D

[cacran]

Hi Katten, I did just the same as you, grew too few and spread them out too much I only had enough for one portion. They were nice though. Next year I will know better ;)

[Deb P]

I will also refrain from growing the 'dwarf' petit pois type again (which I love to eat), a pain in the back to pick, and to shell.......oh well, you live and learn. :-\

I'll stick to tall un's next year, wigwams with string like a spiders web around them worked well for me but I am open to new design ideas! ;D

[kitten]

Hi Deb, i think we'll go for a tall variety next year too (they're meant to be more prolific aren't they?) and the wigwam & string idea sounds great - inspired  ;)

[grawrc]

Yes I'm going for tall peas and wigwams next year. I'm fed up crouching for hours picking them.

[Trevor_D]

I use rigid wire mesh stapled to stout uprights - 4 feet wide, the same as my beds, and 5 feet tall. Three of these go in about 18 inches apart and against each one I plant a 'gutter-full' of peas. (ie. a 4-foot length of plastic guttering with a double row of peas an inch or so apart) Repeat as often as possible throughout the summer.

But I still have to drape nets over against the pigeons!

[saddad]

I've found that pigeons will sit on top of structure to tear at the peas, a suppose it makes a nice change from brassicas all the time!
 :-\

[Trevor_D]

Not just sit! They jump up & down!!

[jennym]

Would recommend Greensage, which I've grown for the first time this year. They have loads of tendrils, few leaves, very long pods with loads of peas in them, they taste good, and for some reason the pigeons didnt touch them. Maybe the tendrils looked like wire or netting, I don't know.

[Trevor_D]

My staple is Gradus. (Don't think it's available commercially now, but I save my own seed.) The packet says it grows to 4 feet, but as peas obviously can't read, mine always manage 5 or 6.

And the pigeons love 'em!

[borage]

I grew Greensage this year and had very poor germination and not that many peas for the effort involved.  Will be sticking to beans in future.