[taraxacum]

This year I have obtained some tall pea seeds (Champion of England variety) in an attempt to improve my yield to ground area ratio. These allegedly grow up to 8 feet tall. Does anyone out there grow peas of this kind, and if so what do you use as supports? Would canes set up as for runner beans do the job, or do I need to set up some kind of netting "fence"?

[mumofstig]

They won't grow up poles like runner beans, so you need either wide mesh netting or string tied along the rows every 18ins or so, to keep the peas upright.

This year I'm going to get £lands pea & bean netting and just dump it at the end of the year, rather than faff about 

[Flowertot]

I've never tried climbing peas either but am going to give Alderman a go. If I set up a wigwam of bamboo poles and then wrap pea & bean netting around (and tie it to) the wigwam, will that work?

[mumofstig]

If you are going to do a wigwam, I'd just tie strings around it, and plant inside, because it can be difficult to get hand through the netting to pick the peas.
If you are going to plant outside the netting, you may still have to do some tying up as they grow

[Goosegirl]

I'd try and get hold of some hedging stakes and bang them into the ground so you can tie your pea/ bean netting onto them at intervals. Start by unrolling just the bottom of the netting and tie the rest onto your stakes to unrol later on. I find that the ends of it needs to be trimmed so you don't end up with incomplete squares further along - most frustrating! When you've got the bottom secured, then unrol the next bit up, then repeat until you've reached the top of your supports. Firmly tie some stout canes onto your stakes to gain the height you need, then unrol the rest of the netting and tie it on to them. Don't get the diamond-mesh netting as it's a nightmare to sort out in a straight line. I recently learnt on here that peas and beans don't really need to be rotated as they don't leave diseases ion the soil, so you could make it a permanent fixture as I intend to do this year. To get enough peas worth the effort, I wouldn't do a wig-wam and you will also need to tie some string on the outer sides of the netting to contain any stragglers bushing out.

[upthetump]

i grew Telephone last year, the first time i tried a climber. i didn't have great success yield wise but i suspect that might have been me rather than the variety. i didn't support them enough and i didn't tie them in early enough which meant they sagged badly. flavour was good but you must have a robust frame and tie them to the netting regularly as they become very heavy. i had them down an 8' bed with 2 canes crossed at each end and 2 in the middle with pea netting about 8' high. the one lot pulled one end out of the ground because the wieght wasn't evenly spread. this year i'm back to greenshaft and kelvedon wonder. good luck with the tall ones tho.

[Salmo]

Do pigeons strip tall peas the same as shorter ones?