I started some mid march last year, but other had some in pots which cropped sooner. So I would be please to hear when people are planning to started getting there peas away.
Round seeded varieties can be sown now, although we will wait for the end of the month... :)
End of Feb for me too. ;D
Back end of April for me!
See my way here;
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Peas/Peas.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Peas/Peas.htm)
I'm going to look at putting in some in a couple of lengths of guttering in the GH, they'll be on the plot before I need the space for tender stuff....
chrisc
we'll be putting ours in guttering in a couple of weeks, hung up in the poly away from the meeces ;D
I just have to say ...... Last year I used Tee Gees method and it worked beautifully!!
Thanks Tee Gee
Duke
Does anyone soak the peas first or?
I think someone said they soaked their broad beans to give them a head start..
5-6 weeks before last frost date.
all legume seeds need to be soaked in cool water 24 hours before they planted out.
this also helps the Pea and Bean inoculate adhere to the seeds.
I may start some in March this year, but it's usually been April.
I'm going to start at the end of feb , but then sow a line or two every month until august becuase they hardly ever make it into the house ,too yummy!
If you are just begining with peas , sow a few outside now to see if youve got naughty mice who will eat or move them all. This will tell you what you need to do to them, sow in a gutter inside if you have mice(to high for a mouse) or sow them direct if you dont have mice (which is much easier and usually no probs with germination) and look forward to the best sweetest peas youve ever tasted!
x sunloving
I start them in pots, as I grow a lot of varieties, and have a wigwam or two for each. Cloches work for me, but my problem is pigeons getting the seeds.
I chit mine on damp kitchen roll and then put 3 or 4 under each plastic bottle cloche. Keeps out the pigeons, mice and squirrels. Most seemed to be ok with a bit of cold. The Felham first sown under bottles before the winter are doing fine and they must have been at -8 on several nights, well perhaps a degree warmer in the bottles.
Quotethis also helps the Pea and Bean inoculate adhere to the seeds.
I think our soils tend to have enough bacteria in so we do not seem to need any help.
My soil has been growing legumes since, I would imagine, 1840. So there should be plenty! Don't use it unless you find you're getting stunted plants, as you may well be wasting your money.
HI Y'All
I actually planted some Meteor under cloches at the back end of last year! This was more of an experiment really as here in Cornwall it was apparently common to plant peas at the beginning of the Winter for very early picking the following Spring. So the mild Cornish winter passed me by and we've had the lowest temps ever. But guess what, against all odds at least half have survided and are showing small strong plants. Meeces have taken their share, but I do believe it has worked! Worth a try in mild areas, and I wonder what the crop would have been like if we had not had such an uncharacteristically (phew) hard winter here.
Will be planting some more Meteor and Onward in a month or two, again starting under cloches. All my peas did great last year despite torrents of the wet stuff during the summer.
Regards
That's interetsing reading Carosanto! I'm trying some Douce de Provence from MoreVeg this year, and according to them they too can be sown in winter, but they find the best results come from sowing in pots then transplanting. Mine are now about an inch high, I'm going to give them a couple more weeks then its out in the big bad world of clay for them!!
You'll have to update us all on how the peas get on! i.e. how early they produce.
1066
I have read somewhere that if you soak the peas in parafin then plant out they keep the mice down. I did it once and did not really notice a difference to planting as I also sow them into guttering and hand them in the greenhouse until they are strong enough to plant out.
However with the cold snap expected later this week I think that I am going to hold off on sowing my sugar snap and other early pea. I already have my sweet peas sown and in the windowsill. I had to resow all my broad beans as the snow/frost (here in Bournemouth) killed off my broad beans. Always overwinter them as I have picked them by the time the black fly get a hold. Will have to look at trying to control them this year however.
Kind regards
Jitterbug
HI Y'All - again
Certainly will give y'all an update of me peas, am looking forward to an ultra early plateful, if they ever make it home.
Just a thought 1066 - Douce de Provence - if these are a French pea, developed in South of France as name suggests (I am not just a pretty face) isn't it a bit OTT to expect them to come through an English winter....naughty MyVeg for promoting it as a winter-sown pea if so. Think you are doing the right thing starting them off in pots!!! Perhaps you could update us on your plateful too!
Quote from: carosanto on February 09, 2010, 17:10:36
(I am not just a pretty face)
Me neither ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: carosanto on February 09, 2010, 17:10:36
HI Y'All - again
Certainly will give y'all an update of me peas, am looking forward to an ultra early plateful, if they ever make it home.
Just a thought 1066 - Douce de Provence - if these are a French pea, developed in South of France as name suggests (I am not just a pretty face) isn't it a bit OTT to expect them to come through an English winter....naughty MyVeg for promoting it as a winter-sown pea if so. Think you are doing the right thing starting them off in pots!!! Perhaps you could update us on your plateful too!
but seriously .... yes I'll let you know how they get on, and I had wondered about their origins. Oh well time will tell :)
Marshalls sell Douce de Provence for autumn planting. I've never tried it, but round seeded varieties are usually hardier.
I sowed some Feltham First in October and after they were eaten by pigeons I sowed some more under plastic bottles cloches and much to my great surprise there are several bonny little plants under each bottle. We have had six inches of snow as well as temperatures down to -8. (pity about the broad beans!!) One bottle blew off but the rest are all intact.
I have a couple of pots each of snow peas and snap peas on the go ready to plant out when it gets a bit warmer, and I have some more plus Purple podded and Latvian chitting on the window sill. Most of them are either saved seeds or 50p bargains so I will not be too upset if they fail.
Latvian is a very tough cookie doesn't mind the cold, lovely raw. Rather small peas but lovely flowers. Ok as mange tout. Total failure as normal peas. OK in soup. I have planted them in February the last two years.
just did a bit of google digging and found some extra info which might explain things a bit better re Douce de Provence -
Pea Douce Provence is a cross between Meteor and Kelvedon Wonder. It is very early, round-seeded and an excellent cropper. This variety can be sown November to February for early cropping before the spring sown varieties.
:-\
Does anyone know when to expect crops from autumn sown peas.
The pedigree of the Douce de Provence does not sound very french or very delicate!
"round" peas aren't delicate... like "latvian" or "Purple podded"... they are very frost proof... grown in the middle ages and right throught the "Little Ice Age" as an over winter field crop... :)
It's an interesting difference. Wrinkle-seeded varieties have more sugar and less starch, hence the shape. Starches don't shrink in drying, where sugars do. They lost hardiness at the same time, but I wonder whether this is due to the extra sugar or other genetic changes which got bred in at the same time?