[Robster]

Felt ham First early peas.  I sowed some outside and about the same time some in root trainers and kept in a cold green house.

Outside sown.  Germinated more slowly not surprisingly.  Germination rate about 70% would be my guess.  They were well protected from as many pests as I could think of.  They have grown on slowly and are pale green and about two inches tall.

Indoor sown.  germination about 90%.  Planted out at 2 inches.  Got away quickly and are now 8-10 inches and a richer green than the others.

Pros and cons.  Root trainer sown was clearly better in terms of the state of the plants today.  But it is a very inefficient way of growing and quite labour intensive.  If you want to grow a lot of peas then direct sowing would be the only way for sure.  When nothing else is in the root trainers I'm not losing time with other crops.  And as I don't count the labour hours as work I'm ok with that.  My guess is that the outside sown will be later to crop which in a way suggests you do both to get a succession of peas.

[mumofstig]

If Spring is warm and early I sow outside, if it's cold and late (like this year) then I sow some inside 

It all depends just how many peas you want to grow 

[AnneB]

I do 4 rows of shorter peas and direct sow these, but not too early.  Mine are just showing through now, having been sown about 10 days ago.  100% germination by the looks of things.

I also grow a smaller quantity of tall peas that I grow up chicken wire draped over an A frame arrangement.   This takes approx 40 plants.  This year I have sown these in modules, hardened off and planted out.  I have got different varieties on each side of the frame.  I planted these out on Thursday after hardening off.

I did this last year and in the end productivity was very similar.

If pushed for space I would do all as direct sown.  However, I have a couple of varieties from Heritage Seed Library this year and wanted to make sure they didn't rot or get eaten by a mouse as you are not given many!

[Headgardener22]

My soil is heavy and cold so I sow peas inside. Then when I plant them out, I sow in the bottom of the trench made to plant the plants. That way I get a longer crop and the soil has warmed up more before sowing them outside.

[ARPoet]

I start peas off in guttering in my glass greenhouse. You can just see them in this photo on the left hand side of the greenhouse on the right.

[Nikkithefoot]

I can't sow direct as mice eat them all. I have tried covering with things to keep them off but it doesn't work. I therefore have to sow indoors to stand a chance of getting peas.

[Salmo]

I sow my peas in root trainers. 5 peas to a module, plant 1 module every 4 inches staggered in a double row as soon as the first leaves have expanded, about 2 inches high. By then the roots fill the modules. 32 modules plant a 10 ft row. They could be spaced further apart but I like plenty of plants.