I'm confused as i've read different things....Can i sow early peas directly in the soil covered by a cloche now?...or do i sow them in pots and leave in a frost free place over winter?
I'd like to sow them direct under a cloche but i'm confused about the different things i've read. (I live in the midlands) .
I'd love some help on this
You can sow something like Meteor (I think it's Meteor) direct now as they are supposed to be hardy but frankly I don't know anyone who actually does it. I was thinking of sowing some direct myself - I couldn't keep pots garanteed frost free and pots will dry out or freeze much more easily...
Its not the frost that is the problem. Peas can stand a few degrees of freezing, especially when they are still very small plants.
It is either mice or birds that get the seeds and if that doesn't happen, they are likely to rot. Mice are still a danger when the seedlings are up because the original seed is still attached to the plant and they have that if they can. I transplant mine and make sure that original seed is underground as well. But I start peas in February indoors, then put them in the conservatory/greenhouse until they are about 5 inches high, then they go out in March. Not always with a cloche and I haven't had losses. They are more at risk in pots though because they get colder than in the ground.
I have had some success with autumn sowing of peas, but it is very hit and miss and very early spring sowing is reliable.
Not sure about early peas specifically, but from experience over the last three years I'd never sow peas direct again. Last year I sowed the same row direct three times to finally get about four plants, this year I started 28 peas (same seed as last year) individually in cardboard tubes (loo roll inners) and planted them out when they were a few inches tall, under netting. Ended up with a nice harvest from the 24 plants that made it through :D
The problem that you're potentially facing, is that if you sow direct, and "something" gets the seed or the very young shoots, by the time you realise nothing's actually growing it could be to late to sow more. If you at least start the plants in pots you'll know that something potentially viable was planted out.
If you're not sure about whether to over-winter in frost-free pots or in the ground, why not try 50/50, then you'll know for next year, but at least you'll have something for your efforts ;)
Quote from: kypfer on October 10, 2010, 23:48:18Last year I sowed the same row direct three times to finally get about four plants,
I used to get poor yields from direct sowing..... until i was beaten by my son when he was 5yrs old. I dug the drill and he put an entire packet where I would of sown half. Yes he used more seed, but there were no gaps and we had a bumper crop. Saves the hassle of planting individually in pots; and saves the disappointment of gaps between produce.
Overwintering sown peas can be hit and miss for an early crop. I do not bother now and just sow them in early spring. They only end up being 2-3 weeks later and you get more of the crop too.
I do the same as the 5 year old and it's one of my most amazing crops, get comments from every passer-by. See my name ;). It's just so welcome to be eating peas in such quantities so early in the season.
Didn't try a winter sowing because you can cloche a few weeks before, put down a layer of dark compost and sow directly into that early spring (Feb or this year, March) no problems after pre-germinating to ward off mice.
I sowed some feltham first last year in october under bottle cloches. All those which stayed under the bottles survived. Where the bottles blew off the plants disappeared very fast indeed and I am not sure whether it was mice, rabbits or deer who did the deed. So I made sure that the bottles were well screwed down into the ground. Genuine CC bottles are made from slightly thicker plastic and work best. Each bottle also had a small cane sticking out the top for added stability.
We had snow over a foot deep and frosts of -8 C and still they survived. They were a couple of weeks earlier than the first new year sown ones (direct after chitting). I have limited space for seedling so do not bother with peas indoors.
Thought the taste was rather so so, so have source Meteor for this year. But they made a very nice snack. None made it home from the lottie ;) ;)
They were not much trouble yielded a nice little crop and the space was soon available for something else. Yes I will do it again thanks for reminding me its time I got on with the job. My soil is very well drained.
I'll be giving some meteor another go this year, my biggest issue with them is that they're nothing like as good as a decent maincrop pea for taste..... though to be fair the same is true of every round pea I've ever tasted. The couple of weeks you gain overwintering (and more if it's a mild winter) does make a difference to me, it means I can grow them in places where they'll be followed by squash/courgettes/outdoor tender veg, they come out and at roughly the same time as the first of the maincrops are coming through anyway.... I'll also be trying Twinkle as an early sowing ....
My other issue with the overwintering vcarieties is that they all seem to be dwarfs, and I tend to view that as a waste of space....
chrisc
We have a tall "round" pea from HSL (Frau Heinrich?) it is totally frost proof, as are all round peas. It doesn't really start growing tall until March... if over wintered. We tend to sow it first.. at the start of March for an earlier crop than the wrinkled peas... :-\
I might give a few telefono a try. I had rather thought they might try and climb out of the protection.
Whilst digging up some potatoes last week, I found half a dozen pea plants that had seeded themselves. I have moved them over to be against the fence and they seem to be doing well. One already has a flower on it!
dwarfs, and I tend to view that as a waste of space....
I used to think same until I found use for them..now I use dwarfs as underplanted crop..under tall peas.
With tall peas..there is always a foot or so that doesn't 'do' anything...so that space is nicely utilized by short varieties..and the first pods with tall ones start coming up where dwarfs growth stops..I've used half pint couple of years now and it seem to be happy with this 'arrangement'.
So next summer I'm going to try this same approach with pole beans..by underplanting some low bush sort underneath.
I am not sure about putting dwarf bean below the poles, they are all very hungry plants. I put my dwarf beans beside my early carrots. Mostly because I was having a run in with contaminated manure and I knew the carrot beds were safe.
I cropped the first row of carrots next to beans and the beans simply spread into the space.
Not sure that underplanting the pole beans will do much for you.... this year all my climbers were from the floor upwards...
Still not seeing the point of a climbing round pea though, except in extremis.... By the time it crops a dwarf wrinkled will be comjing in, which would have nicer peas, and it'll carry on long enough that it will be hard to follow with anythign other than leeks or some sort of winter cabbage.... At least meteor (which I grow but am no fan of) will be out in time for me to put something in in late May/early June.... by which time the wrinkled varieties are up and running....
oh well, guess it's horses for courses...
chrisc
This is how mine was earlier this year..you cannot quite see the halfpint pea at the bottom...but I had solid wall of peas all the way from bottom...and mangetout on top..
The dwarf ones are not as nice as proper main crop ones..but even then, better small than nothing and the space wasn't waisted. ;D
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Not sure that underplanting the pole beans will do much for you....
Yes..that's what my 'brain' tells me too..but I'm going to try..then I won't wonder if it will work. I've got some hard work ahead this winter as I've got permanent bean bed and it is in need of soil change. So once I make deep trench and fill it with 'good stuff' there should be enough 'energy' for at least for one year...and it would be row front of other rather than all in same row.
But we'll see what happens..next years experiment..
Just to keep in topic....my autumn sown early peas get always damaged or eaten away during winter..so I'm doing early sowing in pots...at least I get crop that way and if it is few weeks later that week so be it..better that way then nothing..we've got too much wildlife to feed..
so the popular vote is to not bother with an autumn sowing, but to chitt and cloche them and that the wrinkled (maincrop peas) are the tastiest!
I just need to remember these tips as its the one thing I can't seem to grow well. Truly frustrating when I look and see other peoples crops of peas flourishing - and mine are manky, nibbled by pigeons / mice / slugs, then battered by wind. ::)
I'm trying to build up the soil / area where I plan to plant them by trenching loads of compost, and then I'll add manure - Am I right in thinking they like rich soil (so to speak)?
I have deliberately bought loads of different varieties to try this year - 2011 will be the year of the PEA !!
1066 :)
Peas need moisture and they seem to shut down if it gets too hot/dry. Certainly my Telefono stoppred flowering/cropping for a while when it got hot in late June this year.... started flowering again when the weather broke.....I've added peas to the list of thigns that need autowatering.....
chrisc
QuoteI've got permanent bean bed and it is in need of soil change
I thought that the idea of a permanent area for legumes was the build up of the nitrogen fixing bacteria in the soil. If you change it will this be lost?
I'm pretty scertain permanent bean beds are jsut so you can put in big solid frames and not more them each year....The beans bring the bacteria with them or the bacteria are always there adn the beans give them somewhere to live....
chrisc
Yep...I just cannot be moving all the canes and supports every year..far too much work..so every few years comes the big dig time..
2011 will be the year of the PEA !!
For me too..and bean year..I've all ready piles up with so many new varieties to try and we haven't done the swap yet.. :o
2010 was year of the toms, sweetcorn, squashes, beans..and,,and.. ;D ::)