[shokkyy]

Last weekend, I tried and failed to buy pea netting at my local garden centre (sold out), so I ended up buying some from ebay. It arrived today and I was a bit taken aback to see how big the mesh was, about 7". The packaging label calls it Trellinet, but it does say it's for use with climbing plants including peas and beans. It just seems to me to be awfully big mesh for a pea to cling onto. Is this going to do any good or not?

[mumofstig]

Peas grow quite happily between 2 rows of twine (the way DD does them), so they'll be fine with wide netting 

[shokkyy]

I'm doing all tall varieties though, growing 5' or 6' high.

[mumofstig]

I'm just doing twines for my tall ones, so really don't think the mesh size will be a problem for yours.

[shokkyy]

If ever you see something called Trellinet for sale as pea netting, do yourselves a favour and just say no. I lost 10 years off my life this afternoon, trying to untangle the roll. I've fiddled with netting plenty of times before, but I have never opened a brand new roll before that was tangled up into one enormous knot. It took me hours to get it untangled. And after all that effort, I really don't think it's very useful as pea netting. With a mesh size of about 7" and given the density of pea sowing, you've got an awful lot of plants fighting for the same piece of upright on the netting.

[BabbyAnn]

I've been down the road of trying to untangle netting before and decided life is too short and twiggy pea sticks are so much easier LOL

I've found peas grab hold of anything so I really wouldn't worry about the 7 inch gap/uprights - they don't grow like runner/french beans that need an upright.  Most likely neighbouring plants will become the supports and then they'll form a sort of "hedge" of plants each supporting each other and holding on to the netting.  I think it'll be fine 

[JayG]

Agree entirely with the previous two posts; untangling large mesh pea/bean netting and then trying to get it in position on canes is one of life's great frustrations! 

Having unravelled it I find the best plan is to lay it out flat which makes it much easier to thread the canes through at intervals and secure the netting to them at top and bottom (leaving enought cane uncovered to push into the soil, of course.)

You can then transfer your handiwork to the pea bed and with any luck the netting will have lost its second opportunity to misbehave (and for you to practise your Tourette's repertoire!) 

(Works fine for peas but I don't think it's really up to the job of supporting fully-laden bean plants.)

[shokkyy]

Having unravelled it I find the best plan is to lay it out flat which makes it much easier to thread the canes through at intervals and secure the netting to them at top and bottom (leaving enought cane uncovered to push into the soil, of course.)

You can then transfer your handiwork to the pea bed and with any luck the netting will have lost its second opportunity to misbehave (and for you to practise your Tourette's repertoire!) 

Yes, but you're assuming I did it before I had pea plants several inches high all along the bottom of the canes

Because I left it kind of late to put the netting on, I had to put it on the canes without moving them. And I couldn't have laid that netting out flat for all the tea in China, it just wasn't possible. Not for me, anyway. I've never hated netting so much in my life.