peas

[STEVEB]

want to try peas again next year my 1st attempt were eaten by mice i think
question is do you sow a few earlies/main in the same run?

[STEVEB]

[manicscousers]

we do ours in gutters, hang them up somewhere, keeps the little beggars away, mind you, we have had pigeons perch on them and eat the peas..we now put them in the greenhouse or poly  :)

[STEVEB]

are you saying fill a gutter with muck and soil and raise?

[ceres]

One of my plot neighbours has runs of plastic guttering all along the back wall of his shed.  Starts all sorts in them as well as peas and seems to work.

[STEVEB]

looks like some skip dipping to be done then  ;D ;D

[manicscousers]

are you saying fill a gutter with muck and soil and raise?

yep, the only peas we started in the ground were late ones, they seemed to do ok, I think there was plenty of food for the mice by then  :)

[kt.]

I always start off my peas in lengths of rain guttering about 15-18" long in my greenhouse. (Away from birds and mice).   When the pea plants are about 1" tall,  I water them,  loosen at the sides,  then slide off the guttering into a ready made small trench.  Guarantees 99% germination this way. 

Last year I grew Kelvedon Wonder and Hurst Greenshaft and both were very successful. But this year will be changing to Alderman to try something different.  They are a maincrop variety.

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,47055.0.html

[Robert_Brenchley]

I start them off in pots, on the top shelf of a mini-greenhouse so they're well away from stray mice. Once they're about three inches high I plant out. Alderman is good, and gives a better crop than the smaller varieties. It grows to around six feet so you need solid support.

[star]

I do mine in loo rolls, just the job :D

[OllieC]

This year I did the same as Robert & started off at home before planting out! Finally I got a crop this year!

[Tin Shed]

Grew an over wintering pea [can't remember the name!] and a spring sown one  - Misty. Got a much better crop with Misty - a full row of peas with no gaps with plenty of full pods. Will be growing them again this year.

[powerspade]

To stop mice eating my peas I put a layer of chopped up gorse on top the the pea seeds before filling in the trench

[straush]

as i have never planted anything on my allotment (until oninons/garlic a few weeks ago)

does the mice eat the seed after you panted them but before they started to grow ?   

or do they also eat little plants that was started before it went into the ground ?

[kt.]

does the mice eat the seed after you panted them but before they started to grow ?   

or do they also eat little plants that was started before it went into the ground ?

The mice will go for the pea seed,  the slugs will go for the green plants and the birds will go for the pea-pods.  So you will have 3 battles to win one war on your plot all summer....  but worth the effort...... Let the games begin ;D ;D ;D