[stompy]

I placed my peas inbetween two pieces of kitchen roll to get them to sprout, and they did.

Now what do i do, does the shoot go up or down, is it a root or a shoot. :?

[John]

Hi Stompy - it's the root that comes out first but it is very fragile. If you damage it, it's all over.

At last you know it wasn't your seed.

[stompy]

Exelent John.  

I only got my plot in january and i am just learning, i read a lot but it doesn't tell you everything, and there is no substitute for experience. :oops:

So i'm going to plant them "root" down.

This is why i love this site so much, great site John.

[John]

Well you're not the only one learning. After thinking I'd really cracked it with my brassicas this year, I've just been told that the curds forming early is a bad sign and I'm unlikely to get a decent crop.

This is because I've kept them in pot too long (weather).

BUT - not too late to sow some more.

Glad you like the site - I go onto a lot of techie sites and the attitude is that if you don't know as much as someone else , you're stupid. I suppose those guys were born with programming skills  Then again, when I was much younger I thought I knew it all.  I wish.

[Jerry]

I pre-germinate my pea seed, just in a tray, tossed in with some moist compost. Immediately they start to germinate (well before leaf stage) I sow them direct into the soil. To be honest, i just sprinkle them in with the compost from the ray, it doesn't seem to matter which way up they are, they find their own way! Found this gives me a reliable show, and the mice don't seem to take them so much.
But this would only work if they've only just started germinating, not if there are leaves showing.

[noshed]

My pea crop is a bit disappointing - can you just keep sowing them for say the next few weeks?

[John]

I haven't even got any peas in yet - between weather and work, way behind. Intend to get them in this week - so not too late.

[stompy]

Just to let you know i did my peas like you all told me, soaked them and laid them between 2 pieces of kitchen role and they began to shoot.

I planted them in toilet roll inners and they are now about 4" tall, soon be planting them out.
 
You can keep planting through the season to get a longer cropping period,
so the guys on my site tell me  :!:  :!:

[frances]

I'm new to all this.  I started some peas off in peat pots but they didn't come up.  Thought it was too late to start them off again, but might try them again now.

[comic_muse]

If you use something like Onward or Meteor (or any 'early'), you can succession sow all summer.....Google to find out how many weeks from sowing to cropping & you can keep them going until October.....with a bit of cover you can then sow in October / November for a crop in late April/May......if you don't cover, you'll end up with what I ended up with .....which is a nice space for some Lettuce ! :oops: .....shame because they were like a 'hedge' up until February when that vicious East wind set in....within a fortnight they were 'dessicated'.....& history.

[milkman]

There is nothing worse than growing a decent crop of peas to then have to pick maggotty things out of the finished pods, so I've taken to growing them under a viromesh pea tent - the plants romp away even from a direct sowing and the peas are all perfect because the pea moth can't get at them to lay maggot eggs - peas self pollinate so no need to try and introduce buzzy insects under the tent.  Will try and post a picture of this year's 1st sowing in the next day or so.  A roll of viromesh is a bit of an investment but mine is now 4 years old and still going strong (should last for 10 yrs and is useful for many other crops).  This is my third year of trying this method.

[Jake]

There is nothing worse than growing a decent crop of peas to then have to pick maggotty things out of the finished pods, so I've taken to growing them under a viromesh pea tent - the plants romp away even from a direct sowing and the peas are all perfect because the pea moth can't get at them to lay maggot eggs - peas self pollinate so no need to try and introduce buzzy insects under the tent.  Will try and post a picture of this year's 1st sowing in the next day or so.  A roll of viromesh is a bit of an investment but mine is now 4 years old and still going strong (should last for 10 yrs and is useful for many other crops).  This is my third year of trying this method.

Hi

Can you get viromesh from standard garden centres? Is it really that expensive? Do you know anything else that might put off pea moth?

Sorry lots of questions there.

[milkman]

You can get viromesh in garden centres but better value can be found mail order.  When I bought mine, the cheapest supplier I found was N. A. Kay's (tel. 01946 692134).  I got some 2m wide (which covers my 1.8m waterpipe hoops on 4ft wide fixed beds) and some 3.2m wide which gives the extra height required for eg. peas and brussels sprouts.  I don't have their latest catalogue but in the 2005 catalogue 2m x 25m £49.90, 3.2m x 25m £71.95.  They also do 5m, 10m, 50m and 100m lengths and other widths of 1.5m and 1.2m.

[comic_muse]

Since my disasterous February....I've picked up a 100m roll of 2m wide fleece...we're pretty lucky round here in that it is a Market Gardening area so we have Market Garden Supply companies, but my fleece which will last several seasons with care was only about £24.....the growers won't pay 'shop' prices !  It's worth having a look at any Growers/Farmers supply companies for 'trade' type prices if you can find them....I think Bedfordshire has some 'growing' heritage ?....so you may find some dealers ?

[milkman]

Fleece is undoubtedly cheaper, but I find that viromesh has some useful properties - it filters the wind so isn't inclined to take off in strong breezes, it allows the rain through and isn't so inclined to snag on sharp objects.  In the warmer sunny weather we are happily experiencing just at the moment it seems to afford plants which might otherwise roast under fleece some protection against the heat and also moisture loss by evaporation.  I think that's why my peas (and fledgling carrots, sweetcorn, courgettes, pumpkins, squashes...) are so happy underneath it!

re Jake's query about alternatives - because I try to garden organically (not even a hint of a slug pellet organic or not on my plots...) I don't have any other suggestions for protecting peas against pea moth maggots.