Peas are such a good vegetable to grow for several reasons: –

1. Fresh they taste so good and the first picking used fresh is a summer highlight.
2. They freeze well, we aim to grow a year’s supply, many are used during the winter but they are especially welcome during the hungry gap period of late spring.
3. By using the right varieties, they can be sown early enough to crop early summer thus allowing the ground to be cleared and catch cropped, i.e., replanted with a second crop.

Peas grow well at Ashbrook, they are relatively frost hardy and normally classified as early, second early and main crop. They are however prone to several problems, pea/bean weevil, pea moth and mildew however all three are overcome by sowing seed early. Pigeons are also a problem so peas need covering from start to finish.

Ideally ground will have been prepared early and allowed to settle.

Round seeded varieties are slightly hardier than wrinkle seeded types. Hardy varieties such Meteor and Feltham First are earlies and can be sown in October and December and overwintered to give very early crops although plants can be lost as a result of harsh winter weather and mice.

I find the best time to sow peas is about mid-March using early or second early varieties in shallow trenches, 20cmx2.5cm (8” x 2”). Although not essential, to ensure good germination I do two more things.

1. A week before sowing and up until the plants are about an inch (2.5cm) high I cover the ground with clear polythene, initially to warm the soil, subsequently to provide a good environment for germination. Seed sown and covered this way is less prone to mice damage and should be emerging out of the ground in about a week, uncovered it will take a bit longer.
2. Before sowing I chit the seed in a seed tray lined with damp newspaper for several days to ensure only live seed is sown.

Each pea plant probably produces about five or six pods so to get a worthwhile crop plenty of plants are needed. When sowing into the ground I also sow about fifteen 3” pots each with about six seeds, these are left to germinate in a cold frame and are in reserve just in case there are any germination failures in the main rows.

Seed can also be sown in gutters and the plants slid into the ground after germination.

As the plants emerge, I leave them covered with polythene then insect mesh until they are about 2cm (2”) high and then provide support such as sticks or horizontal strings as support.

Pea/bean weevil appears about mid-April, notched leaves are one sign, sometimes complete stems are chewed through and plants become debilitated resulting in a reduced yield however covering with insect mesh weighted down around the perimeters seems to reduce the problem.  Autumn or March sowings are generally strong enough to outgrow this pest however if the plants are really suffering an insecticide approved for vegetables and applied in the evening via a watering can fitted with a rose will give a bit of respite and allow the crop to grow away strongly, whether to do this is your choice. Seed sown during April and May suffers particularly badly.

Another pest is pea moth which is active from mid-June onwards, it is their larvae inside the pods that spoil the crop. Insect mesh will keep the moths out but netting won’t, however plants from mid-March sown seed of early and second early varieties should be have blossom before June and therefore avoid this pest.  

For the past few years, I have I have covered my pea plants with fine insect mesh the whole time and this has totally eliminated damage by pigeons, weevil and pea moth, peas are self-fertile so bee pollination is not necessary. The friendlier growing environment this material creates has resulted in significantly increased crops.

At Ashbrook, mildew often appears during July, again first or second early varieties sown in March should be finished by early July therefore this problem is avoided.

Once blossom has formed and the pods are swelling try not to let the plants dry out. Keep the plant roots moist to ensure the pods fill out with succulent peas. Feel the pods frequently and open the odd one to check how they are filling, pick the crop while it is at its best. We normally grow three rows simultaneously to produce a year’s supply. We pick and freeze when the first main flush of pods is ready, leave the remainder a few days to continue fattening then pick and freeze a second batch before the pods get coarse and stale. Yellowing leaves at this point is a sign the plants are at the end of their life. Either side and between the main pickings there are plenty of fresh peas for the kitchen.

If the crop can be finished by the first week in July, the ground can then be then cleared, revitalised and replanted with a second (catch crop) all as described for broad beans.

Suggested pea varieties that have produced well on at Ashbrook:

Kelvedon Wonder, rated by many to be the best flavoured, heavy cropper, good fresh, freezes well.

Jaguar, another good one as above.

Early Onward. Produces heavy crop but tends to crop just after the above two. (Don’t confuse with Onward which is a main crop pea that comes that bit later in July and therefore can be prone to pea moth and mildew.)

Hurst Green Shaft, a later second early, gives a heavy crop of good flavour well suited to freezing.

These notes cover podded peas, mange tout can be grown the same way.