Edible sweetpea

[goodlife]

I've just received seeds for some of these.. ;D Although the packet came with very clear instructions how to get them started..I was wondering have any of you grown some of these and any other tips for good harvest?..I'm ever so hopeful ::) ;D
Just to make clear they are Lathyrys tuberosus.

[goodlife]

[goodlife]

correction..Lathyrus tuberosus=earthnut pea or tuberous pea..not sweetpeas eventhough the flowers should have lovely smell..

[Robert_Brenchley]

It's extremely light cropping. It's one of the crops which disappeared after 19th Century improvements in other vegetables. I think it was quite widely grown once, since the wild - or maybe escaped - plants are found over a wide area. They're pretty weak little plants, so they don't need much to climb up.

I haven't lifted mine yet, but whatever's in there, I'm not expecting to get a crop this year.

[goodlife]

I should have though to ask from our "pea man" straight away ::) ;D
Now, would removal all the flowers make difference to to the tuber size?..what you think?
When did you planted/started yours?

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've no idea. It might, but on the other hand, saving seed is the one thing that just might produce a better variety. Some vegetables were improved, others were left behind. I suspect, unfortunately, that many of the improvements go back to chance mutations in a field of whatever it was. For instance, the modern sweet-tasting wrinkle-seeded peas go back to a plant found in a field of peas in, I think, 1820. On the other hand, there's no telling what a persistent gardener could come up with.

[Ian Pearson]

Some info here:
http://radix4roots.blogspot.com/search/label/Lathyrus%20tuberosus

[goodlife]

Ahh...Ian, that was brilliant...now I just have to get hold of the other pea and I'll can forget growing any food..slimmer of the year ;D..answer for every girls nightmares ;)
I really just wanted to eat something different for experience ::)

[Vinlander]

Some info here:
http://radix4roots.blogspot.com/search/label/Lathyrus%20tuberosus

I can add a bit to that:

It's the only 'chestnut taste' veg that is anything like the real thing (eg. Apios is pretty horrible unless you grow it in mud and not great even if you do).

The yield is often better than you think because the tubers are a bugger to find in dark soil and can turn up 50cm away from the stem (in every direction except up).

For the same reason it spreads widely.

It's easy to kill but that would be a waste - I'd recommend lining a small trench with landscape fabric and filling it with light soil - and light-coloured soil too (the tubers are black). Perlite does the trick well and provides drainage which is appreciated.

You could also use a very large pot or large deep tray but the trench is better.

Cheers.

PS. Sweet pea seeds (and related species) must not be eaten - some species taste good but too many contain horrible poisons - the most insidious is a slow nerve toxin - causes a debilitating disease called lathyrism ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lathyrism) that is widespread when famine makes people eat wild peas.

[goodlife]

Thanks Vilander :)...I saw page on net where somebody had sunk large pot in ground and were growing it that way..and I think I'm going to try both..doing trench like you said with liner in and with pot method too..
I just have to do another trial..just to know which works better.. ::)..not that I'm not trusting your opinion, but when I've do it myself and seen with my own eyes then I've truly learned my lesson.. ;)

[Vinlander]

Thanks Vilander :)...I saw page on net where somebody had sunk large pot in ground and were growing it that way..and I think I'm going to try both..doing trench like you said with liner in and with pot method too..
I just have to do another trial..just to know which works better.. ::)..not that I'm not trusting your opinion, but when I've do it myself and seen with my own eyes then I've truly learned my lesson.. ;)

Excellent news - the essence of science is doubting everything... another way of looking at it is that if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then repeating an experiment is the kindest thing you can do!

Cheers.