Kitchen Garden Forum

I planted our sweet peas on the allotment yesterday (a rare still and sunny day!), surrounding them, as I do every year, with a shelter made from double fleece which just surrounds them but does not cover them. I now still have quite a lot of space on the same run of 6 foot high support netting and would like to use that for the mangetout pea Carouby de Mausanne. As we live in slightly dicey climate, I wonder if it is too early to risk sowing these peas. Are mangetout peas more sensitive to lower temperature than ordinary podding peas? My podding peas will be going in soon.

Hi Monika,

I have grown these before but it was a late sowing and they were prone to mildew so it's possible that they'll be better sown in the spring. I've got no reason to believe they are any less hardy than podding peas.

Motherwoman

Thank you, MW. With the forecast for such warm and wet weather for the next few days, I jumped the gun today and sowed them , albeit in root trainers which I will keep under a cloche until they germinate.

Hi Monika,
I now always start my first peas off in gutters as per Geoff Hamilton and then once they are in sow the next row. My allotment is exposed and clay loam so I prefer to start the season off sheltered and protected at home. We have rabbits, badgers and pigeons and of course slugs. At least I get even spacing this way. I now only sow sugar snap finding them the best to eat at any stage.

Hilary

Thanks, Hilary. I did try the gutter treatment in the past but found it really difficult to push them out without getting them all jumbled!

Nowadays, with the ordinary peas (not mangetout) I usually just get them sprouting on damp kitchen paper before sowing them into the ground. It seems that they are no longer so attractive to field mice or bank voles (of which we have many) when they have sprouted. I also immediately cover them with wire netting to stop any flying thieves helping themselves.

I used to do the gutter method but like Monika found that I ended up with jumbled up plants. Nowadays I germinate the really early ones indoors on damp kitchen paper, then put those that germinate in roottrainers and then plant them out. Rather labour intensive but gives good results. Am just about to germinate some more indoors before just planting those out in the open.

My pea propagator is made using square line guttering in 34.5" lengths and I give the length of guttering a bang on the bench then water the length and they slip out of the gutter beautifully. (The lengths are 34.5inches because we needed to make another propagator and that is what was left that would divide equally.)
Ten lengths makes the perfect 30ft row leaving room for support uprights.
To grow peas in long lengths of guttering is a recipe for disaster because you cannot control the planting out properly.
I also have a profile cut out of a slate which gives assistance if needed to push the last few inches from the guttering.
Have got pictures of these propagators but cannot remember how to post them on here.
What a cluck!
JB.