Vegmonkey and the Mrs.

I like to think the ‘Vegmonkey and the Mrs.’ is a blog about progress, i.e not just successes, but learning too, and the failures that come with that.

We didn’t grow any peas last year due to having broad beans in the space. No beans this year, so the peas got the go-ahead.

I read that growing in guttering was the best way, as the peas just slide out of the guttering and into the ground. I didn’t however find this the case. The tangle of roots inside the guttering, turned into a mushy mess and i ended up taking out each of the plants individually. I’m sure there are better ways.

We’ve been eating them happily for the last month, with pretty much every other meal - i can’t recommend growing them more. Last week we had a few tough ones, but i think i’ve put that down to a mistake made early on…..

Being all enthusiastic early in the year, i planted all the Feltham First Early peas and Mange Tout out into the guttering and put it all into the cold frame. Problem was, i didn’t label them. Needles to say, 2 months later, we have lots of great peas to plant out, but no idea what was what. They all went in together, and just recently we have been eating the mange tout and the Feltham first all in one! Not a problem really though as i can’t be arsed to shell them anyway.

Anyway, i digress. The wind that whips through our little plot of land gave the peas a proper battering last week, partly because i’d used some aesthetically pleasing (but pretty useless) sticks, but also because i didn’t push them in deep enough. Next year, their will be a major structure where the peas shall go, and i’ll make sure i divide them better.

I planted a few ’seeds’ out in a pot, which are almost ready to go into the bed as small plants now, to fill the gap in the pic above, caused by the plants i had to take out due to wind damage. Apparently they will fail as the weather warms up, but we’ll see. I also plan to plant some more plants out early September, to see if we can get a late Summer crop…

The ‘Oregon Sugar Pod’ (mange-tout variety) peas started flowering at the beginning of May and have recently started cropping. They’ve reached about a metre which is as high as they’ll get.  Somewhere in there we also have Feltham First peas, but i didn’t label them so have no idea which plants are which. I suppose we’ll see once they start cropping too.

The problem i have is that everytime i walk past the peas, i take one or two off to eat, as they are so amazingly sweet. This means that we haven’t had enough to make a meal yet, but it shouldn’t be long.

I was told recently that peas stop cropping when it gets too warm, so i’m thinking that i need to plant some more in the guttering, in the cold frame, to go into the beds around mid July time.  Although i think i’d be quite reluctant to take out still cropping plants, it would make sense to extend the season. If i replace half and leave half, then i would be able to see which method works better…i feel an experiment coming on…

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.

Due to a load of warm weather we’ve been having this week, everything in the garden has shot up which has resulted in a grinning Vegmonkey! I decided as it was bright and dry outside that i would plant out my ‘Feltham First’ peas and Mange Tout ‘Oregan Sugar Pod.’

The peas planted straight into the earth have done nowhere as well as the ones i planted into guttering. This has to do with the shallow guttering keeping the heat in better and the fact they were stored in the cold-frame, ironically named as it is actually warmer than outside.

I bought some beautiful sticks, not sure which tree they are from, i’m thinking maybe hazel.  I placed them in the ground at the base of the 3 pea plants that had grown in-situ and inserted the others equidistant in the space. A set of 10 sticks cost me £2.00.

First row planted                                       Second row planted

I then transplanted the peas from the guttering into holes about 4 inches deep. I’d like to say i used a trowel, but in truth the holes were made using just my hands. It’s nice to be scrabbling around in warm soil again. The longest root on one of the pea plants was 40cm, so i trimmed it off slightly. When growing in guttering, there is a danger that the roots of the different plants get intertwined. I’ve heard of people sliding the contents of the guttering straight into the soil, but that would mean organising the spacing before planting, and i’m nowhere near that organised! So i had to treat them carefully, easing them out and bedding them in with the compost from the guttering.

I then planted two more rows the same way. I wish i could have spread the peas out a bit - twice the distance between rows would be ideal - but i do not have the space. Once all the plants were in (and a few extras added in case the weaker plants get sluggified!) i added a little more compost around them and made sure they were sturdy, then emptied about 4 watering cans around them.

I then tied the canes at the top with garden twine to ensure the sticks didn’t move about in the wind. The plants themselves will grow to about 3ft tops.

I just wish i’d labelled the guttering…i have no way of distinguishing between the seedlings as yet, so they’ve gone in together which could result in an interesting mix of flowers and fruit!