Allotments 4 All

Quote from: Ian Pearson on March 08, 2010, 19:01:37
Purple peas have their advantages. Try this technique to stretch production. (Requires rich soil, strong tall supports, and regular watering). Sow a purple podded variety in modules as early as possible, and plant out when ready. Once they are about 1 to 2 ft high direct sow a green podded type right alongside the first variety so that they will climb up through them. Harvest the purple pods when they are ready – they are easy to distinguish from the foliage because of the colour contrast. If timing is right the second variety follows on from the first. Again the colour coding helps with identification if there are any of the first variety still there. As the first variety finishes cropping, direct sow a third crop in the same place – this time climbing French beans to climb up through the dying peas (luck required to get a good crop). Alternatives for the third crop are cucumbers, or achocha, or climbing types of Winter squash.

I think I see how to make it work. Grow two varieties together with not only different-looking pods, but different looking seeds. There's a lot of variation, so if any peas ended up in the wrong batch they'd be obvious. I've got a lot of varieties I only have ten or a dozen of, so they wouldn't be crowded.

I was growing for eating, not saving, so it was not so critical.

They are strong inbreeders I think, so no problems with crossing?

There shouldn't be, since the anthers and stamens are all in a closed sac.