Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi all

Long time since I posted on here.

So much life, so little time!

Does anyone grow Alderman peas? They are the tall ones.

I've just finished harvesting the last of mine and taken the plants down.

They have given me about 500g of shelled peas per 1 metre double row. In other words, each metre of netting had a row planted either side of it.

How does this yield seem?

Guy

Hi Guy,
I grow Alderman Peas but I have never really calculated how many per metre.
I really think it all depends on the density at which you grow them.
I sow my peas in a domino five pattern along the row and approximately 14 peas to the foot. My yield is around 40lbs for a sixty foot row.(2x30ft)
My calculation is that I get considerably more yield than you but would suggest that this is because I grow at a considerably thicker density.
I have one chest freezer that is dedicated to peas alone. I also grow an even taller variety called Radio, which was kindly sent to me by Clive a few years ago, which OH is growing this year, and also I grow Hurst Greenshaft. All have different harvest times.
You might gather from this that I am rather fond of peas!
JB.

Blimey John, you must like your peas!

I've grown Robinson, a tall heritage variety and got 9 lb shelled weight from a 12 ft row, and I've left some on to sow next year. I've done my sums and sow at about the same rate as Johnboy and am very pleased with the yield. I hadn't thought about whether it was good or not.

My other favourite is Greenshaft too, lovely and sweet and a bit more manageable.

Hi Plumpudding,
Yes I do consume vast quantities of Peas (old men and regularity!) but I have three daughters who regularly visit and raid my freezer. I always steam blanche the Peas and when thawed out they take no cooking at all. I used to boil-blanche but Monika put me straight a few years ago and steaming is far and away the best way to go.
At times my kitchen is a hive of industry. I shell throwing the shucks onto the floor then when all is finished I sweep up and wash the floor.
I'm told that pea shucks make a rather nice white wine so perhaps if anybody has the recipe I could have a go at that.
JB.

I have heard good reports of the Robinson variety PlumPudding and they are on my 'to grow' list for next year

I was given a tall Heritage variety of Tutankhamen to try this year and they produced exceedingly well the peas being quite sweet.. I understand they will be in the catalogue this year

Hi JB,
Don't have recipe for pea pod wine, but I do have one for Pureed Pea Soup which uses the pods as well.
I'll put it in the recipe section.
Chris

I would love to be able to fill my freezer with peas but will need your advice. My local gerden centre has 50% of seeds and beans so would i still get success by buying the peas now?

John would i be able to catch an earlier or late crop in my polytunnel.

Do you do sow a sizable row of three different peas with different haversting times.

Hi Goldilox,
Thank you for the recipe. It may not be the recipe that I was after but it certainly sounds rather nice and decidedly easier than making the wine. I have a family get together this weekend so I'll have a crack at it and see what they make of it.
By a popular vote we are having boiled Gammon with onion, leek, celery, carrot and an assortment of pulses including flake barley and pearl barley with new potatoes, runner beans and peas with a white sauce.
On Monday morning I will add more of the vegetables to the remaining liquor add some mashed potatoes, to thicken it all, butter beans and chick peas. This is eaten with home made wheatmeal bread and butter and is quite a meal. It generally produces 4 pints of soup.
It sounds quite explosive but surprisingly it isn't.
If there is any of the 'whole pea' soup left over (which I doubt) that will go in with it all as well.
Thank you again for the recipe.
JB.

This was my first year growing peas and I was very pleased with the results. As it was an experiment I only gave a 1.2m row to them, with three rows of peas, the outer ones 'meteor' and 'Alderman' in the middle on a 1.6m mesh. I probably didn't plant them as densley as I could have - I put them in as seedlings rather than seeds.

Not enough to freeze anything, but lovely and over a long period. Next year the supports will be taller though, the Alderman headed on up the adjacent bean poles to over 1.8m.

i would be interested in the other heritage types, where do you get the seeds?

Apart from yield, can any of you advise when you generally sow & grow your peas?

I've only been growing peas for the last couple of years and am still pleasantly surprised by the results. I generally start mine off indoors early in the year and plant them out in Feb or so under cover. The general idea is to get an early crop and I did so this year with Feltham first and Telegraph (which grew to the top of Runner bean canes!).

However am I missing out? Are there benefits in leaving it till later in the Spring/Summer (or using varieties more suited to this)? I'm never sure if there are pests which go for the later varieties and if early planting helps avoid these (as in the case with some Broad Beans).

Di

I get mine from the HSL (Heritage Seed Library)at Garden Organics

I get my seeds from HSL too, and Real Seeds who only sell open pollinated ones, so you can always save your own seed from them. They also do a brilliant seed saving course which I went on about 3 years ago. When you understand how all the different plants are pollinated you can keep the varieties true to type and vigorous.

I've also got some very interesting ones from a couple of seed swaps on Dave's Garden web site and also from this web site.

Hi Johnboy, here is a recipe for pea-pod wine.

4lbs Pea-pods.
3.5 lbs Sugar.
1 lemon.
3/4 gal Water.

Method.
Boil the pea-pods with the thinly peeled rind of the lemon until tender.

Strain on to the sugar and stir well.

When luke warm add the wine yeast mixed with a little of the warm liquid, and also add the lemon juice.

Stir and leave for 24 hrs in a warm place, well covered.

Pour into a Demijohn, top up to make 1 gallon, then insert an airlock, and keep in a warm place until all signs of fermintation have finished. Or test with a Hydrometer.

When clear, rack off the leas and bottle. The longer you keep it the better it will be.

Hi Vron,
Thank you for the recipe. Peas over for this year but will have a crack next year. Now printed off and in my recipe folder.
Thanks again,
JB.

Does anyone grow the Feltham First and Meteor over-wintering peas and if so, do you have any success? I have read mixed reviews on whether they are worth growing. And if they are - am I too late to sow?