The peas i planted out back in April are doing well.This may have something to do with the amazing weather we have been having these last few days. Rather than put netting up i have decided to let the peas climb of their own accord, and tie them up using green twine, rather than that horrid plasticy stuff i used last year. The slugs and snails have pretty much left them alone, largely helped by the copper tape that the Mrs. has strategically and expertly stuck around the beds. It is surprisingly hard-wearing, most of it lasting the winter, and only now does is it starting to need renewing.
The mistake i made with the peas was not labelling which were Feltham First and which were Mange-Tout. It’s going to be interesting when the plants start flowering to see how many of each plant we have. I was going to sow successionally so that we had a supply of peas throughout the summer, but sadly don’t have the space.
I’m going to grow a supply of plants in guttering in July and plant them out if the peas stop producing. Having never grown peas before, i’m not sure how long this will be, so it will be interesting. I’m assuming they will be like Runner Beans and keep cropping as long as i keep picking.
Tags: feltham first, garden twine, mange tout, planting peas
May 6th, 2008 at 3:04 am
Your peas look great! Mine just flop over, they are not the least bit interested in climbing anything lol
May 6th, 2008 at 6:43 am
Gosh, that’s quite intricate work tying all those little plants.They look good though.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:13 am
I planted my peas a bit later so they are only just coming up. And I know what you mean about not having the room for successional sowing. I can’t help being annoyed at the parsnips which take up so much room and we won’t be eating for months.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I did that last year - you tend to find that the ‘peas’ are mangetout when they are a bit tough! Gives it away….
Healthy looking specimins there! Your plants just give up the ghost when they want to, but as long as you keep feeding, watering and picking, they should keep going for most of the summer.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Peas are ace if you just want to grab something out of the garden to eat but you need masses of ‘em if you want a meal out of it.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Hey Vegmonkey, I’ve had trouble getting to your site lately for some reason (I think it’s my computer with the problem, not your site) so I’ve been catching up! Thanks for the mention on your ‘diluting the blogs’ post - I think its a great idea.
I’ve got that same spicy leaves pack from a mag waiting for me to sow them!! And how I wish for peas as healthy as these fine specimens! The slugs ate all mine!
May 7th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Those peas look great! My understanding is peas will die in hot weather (thus spring and fall peas), but I’m not sure how much counts as “hot.” Last year mine gave up the ghost at the end of June, when it was getting into the 80s during the day and 60s at night (uh, around 30/15 C).
May 7th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Your pea plants look great - nice and healthy. They usually only last until the weather gets hot, as Jenny says. Here’s hoping you get a great first crop and can enjoy them while they last!
May 9th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Glad to see I’m not the only one with peas that are going mad, I’m off to the woods tomorrow to get more twigs for mine before they become a rambling mess. It is lovely though to see what a difference some sunshine makes. And there’s nothing nicer than eating peas straight from the pod.. yum yum!!
May 13th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Lovely looking pea shoots! My first sowing got completed munched by slugs so I’ve sown a load more in pots indoors and will plant them out shortly once they have shoots big enough to handle. Did you protect these from slugs at all?
I’m going to be trying willow obelisks this year for them all to climb up - I hope they like it!