Peas

Overview

Peas – Pisum sativum            Rotation group - Legumes

Garden peas are the real luxury crop of the allotment garden. They are very fickle to grow because they don’t like the weather conditions to be too hot, too cold, too dry or too wet. They seem to prefer the sort of summer that none of us really want cool and cloudy! This is why sometimes the best peas are always produced at the early part of the summer. In most seasons the pea harvest is usually over towards the end of July.  As well as the succulent round garden peas there are also the very sweet  petit pois (small peas),  mange tout peas sometimes called sugar peas where the tender young pods are eaten and sugar snap  pod peas where the entire juicy, fleshy pod containing the peas are eaten..

There are two types of pea seed;

The hardy round seeded peas that are sown in the autumn and are tough enough to be able to survive the average winter. They are also used for the earliest New Year sowings during February/early March. If it is a particularly hard spring it is best to sow the round seed up until the milder weather arrives. Round seeded peas do not have the same quality and flavour as the summer grown peas.

The other type is the wrinkled seeded cultivars that are used for the late spring and early summer sowings when the weather has warmed up. These are the plants that produce the quality garden peas that everyone wants to grow.

Varieties to choose (from Kings Seeds):-

How to grow

All of the different types of peas are grown from seed.

Early peas can be ready from April until the end of May. These cultivars only grow to about 2ft/60cms but will still need some form of supporting to keep the crop off the soil. It also makes them suitable for growing under cloches.

The first sowings for the new season are made during October/November using a round seeded selection. The seed are sown directly into the soil in shallow double drills 2ins/50cm deep and 9ins.20cms apart leaving 3ft/90cms between each set of double rows. Alternatively three seeds can be sown in a 3in/9cms pot and when the roots show at the bottom of the pot they are ready to be transplanted into the open ground. Line the pots out along the row so that they are touching each other and then transplant the young pea seedlings into the soil. Although the round seeded peas are reputed to be tough enough to survive the winter they will still need protection from cold, freezing or wet conditions. It is always safest to keep some cloches handy to cover them when the weather turns nasty. If you decide to delay sowing until the new year or the overwintering plants are killed off a sowing can be made during February using round seeded peas either under cloches or in pots as already described. After March it is too late in the season to use the round seeded types.

Later/maincrop peas

These are made using a round seeded selection from mid-March up until the end of June although the later June sowing may have to be abandoned if the weather conditions are unsuitable. A quicker maturing selection should be used for the June sowings.  Sow the peas directly into the soil in 2in/5cm deep shallow drills or a flat wide trench the width of a garden spade. The pea seed is spaced at 3ins/7.5 cms along the drill or sown in three rows along the trench at the same spacings. Make the distance between the sets of rows the same as the ultimate height of the plants. It is a waste to broadcast sow the seed in the trench because it will only lead to overcrowding problems later on and it is also a waste of seed. Cover the seed by gently drawing the soil back over the drills or trench and lightly drag a garden rake along the length of the row to camouflage it and hopefully fool the birds. The newly sown seeds will always need protection from birds and mice, so, from the outset cover the seed beds with netting and set traps for the mice.

Growing on

It is essential to protect the young pea plants from birds because they will devastate a crop before breakfast time. Maincrop peas can grow from 3ft/1mt up to 6ft/2mts tall. It is essential to provide them some form of support from the start. The most commonly used is brushwood cut from the hedgerows or plastic pea netting hung from strong stakes or canes.

Aftercare

Water regularly because if the pea plants are allowed to go short of water they will stop growing and never recover.  Keep the root area cool and moist at all times. Peas manufacture their own nitrogen on their roots they will not require any extra feeding.

How to Harvest

The pea pods must be picked regularly from the bottom upwards to keep the plants in production. If any of the pods are allowed to become tough and straw like in appearance the plants will stop producing the pods. Try to remove the pods by pinching through the short stalk. Don’t be tempted to tug at the pods to avoid the risk of pulling the plants over or worse still out of the soil. If you are in any doubt use a scissors to cut through the stalk. Pinch out the tips of the pea plants when they reach the top of the supports to encourage the development of the pods.

Issues

The main pest is the pea moth that lays its eggs during June and July they eventually hatch into the little white maggots found inside the peas. They are extremely difficult to control but this is where growing the early types or mange tout peas can provide a crop and save the day.

Mildew is a serious problem in extremes of wet or dry conditions and it is impossible to control. This is why it is viatally important to keep the root area cool and moist but not overwatered.

Root or Foot rot can be a major problem if the soil is wet and heavy this is why good drainage is essential.