The first year I grew peas was a total disaster!

I started the seeds off in loo roll inners and everything was going well – nice little healthy plants at home, then the time came to plant them out and it was down hill from there. They slowed down growth wise and the pods were far and few between [ all that effort for a very small meal] The following year I sowed direct [  roughly the same amount of two 5ft rows] and was sick of eating them. I put down the previous years failure to the cardboard loo roll inners and heavy clay soil, even though the bed had copious amounts of compost dug into the bed to break the soil up. I’m convinced the two didn’t give ideal growing conditions – I also had a problem with my squash started off the same way, though in little peat pots [the idea of just plant everything pot as well just doesn't work on my soil]

I grow two types of peas

# dwarf- A early pea, enabling me to cover them until the weather warms up – they don’t need any support..

Followed by a main crop climber ..

Remember to soak peas overnight before sowing!

Early March through to April..

I sow my dwarf peas three to four weeks apart. – I completely ignore the spacing advice on the packet and grow in blocks close together so they support themselves

April

I put up the support for my climbing peas and fork in some bone meal

End of April/May

Depending on the weather I direct sow my climbing peas – delaying if the ground is too wet..

April/ May..

I sow my beans direct around the end of April/May

[runners,  broad, etc. ]

Adding compost and bone meal to the bed in March..

leaving the more tender varieties

[French beans asparagus beans ]

until June…