[markp76]

Last year i tried using the string method outlined by DD but it didnt seem to work ever so well for me, the peas weren't great by my own admission so was wondering if i should go with sticks this year for peace of mind {and to stop the wife nagging shes allways saying you've been on that internet again!} if i were to use the stick method what sort of sticks are the best to use?

[mumofstig]

When you say the peas weren't great...what exactly do you mean?
The way they are supported won't necessarily improve your peas will it?
Were you growing the very low growing ones..........some peas planted on our site didn't seem to grow more than a foot tall last year

[DD.]

Use whatever method you see fit, as Mum says, it won't affect how the peas grow.

I use my method as there's no way I could find 200' worth of pea stick each year.

[Ma and Pa Snip]

Use whatever method you see fit, as Mum says, it won't affect how the peas grow.

Wasn't it Kenneth Williams in Beyond Our Ken (or maybe Round the Horn) that played a character whose catchphrase was

"The answer lies in the soil"

Yeah I know it was a manure garden quiz show to.

Our local allotments have plots using both methods and we've never seen it cause a crop difference. I'm going to try the strung up method I think this year, just to try it from a ease point of view.

If Ma gets no peas it'll be me thats strung up.  

[compostqueen]

You can use clematis netting laid longways. Or grow dwarf peas which require no support, such as Early Onward 

I like pea sticks and the rigmarole of sticking them at jaunty angles (I don't have 200 ft to do though - but then do any of us ?  )  I use whatever happens to be in the hedge that borders my plot as I don't want to buy Chinese bamboo.  A very colourful pea stick is the red stems of cornus.  The hawthorn is a good one as it's so thorny the rabbits give up, and it's strong, as the peas become heavy as they grow, and if the wind gets up, the whole lot can come crashing down

It's all in the preparation 

[DD.]

Use whatever method you see fit, as Mum says, it won't affect how the peas grow.

Wasn't it Kenneth Williams in Beyond Our Ken (or maybe Round the Horn) that played a character whose catchphrase was

"The answer lies in the soil"

Arthur Fallowfield.

One of our members uses A. Fallowfield as a username.

[Goosegirl]

I use bean netting of the square not diagonal pattern and supported by hedging posts at each end and an occasional bamboo cane in the middle for extra support. I have tried pea sticks from the hedgerows but they fell over with the weight of the peas and weren't tall enough!

[bigben]

I spent a bit of time last weekend banging in some steel stakes that I tie my string to similar to the DD method. I did once try pea sticks but when I came to take them out I found some had rooted and were actually growing. The peas also outgrew them.

[JayG]

Thought I be smart last year and enclose my sugarsnaps in an inverted U-shaped tent of ordinary green gardening netting supported by canes to protect from pigeons and also give them something to hold on to as they grew.

Good thinking?

No!  The "tent" was 4' high and the peas wanted to grow to 7' so some serious surgery was eventually required! (Didn't say anything about that on the packet, honest!) 

[Lardman]

Heres what I've found...

String between posts
Works best if you plant densely, at least a double row and get the string support up quickly.

Pea Sticks
Never enough to make a decent row.

Plastic netting
Fine for single row, needs putting up early. Impossible to remove tendrils at end of season.

Chicken Wire
Ugly, best for single/thin rows - easier than netting to clean.

[DD.]

Recommended pea spacing, I suppose you'd call this a triple row:

[PLecostrum]

I made a lovely cane tripodbut they never seemed to grow up it   They were a tangled mess   I didn't realise they were the low growing lol I nearly dug them up as I thought they were rubbish nextto my 3ft dwarf bean tripods lol

Anyone tried putting in hanging baskets ? growing down

[DD.]

Peas are not low growing, well they will be without the proper support.

They will not climb canes like runner beans, but need to supported with string, sticks and the like, unless they can be given something like netting to cling on to.

[MoreWhisky]

DD method for me and with the above triple spacing. Works so well and easy to net from the pidgeons.

[Growster...]

This year, I've snaffled a load of Lime tree prunings - those bits which grow like a brush at the base of the tree.

The guy who cut them said they would be too weak for the job, but I reckon that they'll maybe move around a bit, but with the occasional bit of string here and there, they'll do the job.

If they fall lower than a couple of feet, well, so what!