[brianc]

Hi all.
        Going to plant my peas soon at what stage can i remove the bird netting or will i have to keep
         covered until all picked.

[DD.]

Plant or sow? (See signature  )

I have to keep mine covered at all times against our hoards of pigeons.

[Goneterseed]

Why not pick up typo's and spellung mistukes as well? 

[sunshineband]

Why not pick up typo's and spellung mistukes as well? 

@coz it mite tayk sum time on a badd dae 

and I have to keep netting firmly over the plants too or the pigeons eat all the tasty top shoots as they grow 

[DD.]

Why not pick up typo's and spellung mistukes as well? 

Because as has been said before, it can make a difference to the answer:

It's nothing to do with being pedantic: 'should I plant my cucumbers now?' becomes a completely different question if you actually mean 'sow'.

We're just trying to encourage the use of the correct terminology to prevent any confusion. Is there a problem with that?

[Sparkyrog]

As this is a pea thread (and the pea God is around ) Alderman is a tall pea is it correspondingly high yielding ?

[DD.]

I wouldn't say, for example, treble the height = treble the crop, but you certainly get more for the same row length. You have to weigh that against the extra support needed.

[Sparkyrog]

Thanks DD  I am looking at doing a 20 ft row, was going to support with bean canes and plastic netting .

[Goneterseed]

DD, I wasn't having a go, hence the smiley.

I used to grow 5 x 13' rows of Hurst Greenshaft but this year I'm going with tall variety's.

3 x 13' rows, 1 of each Magnum Bonum, Lord Leicester, and champion of England, all 6 - 8' tall.
They will be on goal post frames of 3" x 2" and 8' canes.

[mumofstig]

Peas don't grow up poles like beans do - you'll have to tie string along the canes to keep the peas upright

[brianc]

Hi people
             What have i started here? to clear up the question i started my peas in rain guttering so that i can
             slide them out into their growing position, i have never grown peas before so i was not sure what
             to do. I wanted an answer so i could decide what type of support to erect.

[Goneterseed]

Peas don't grow up poles like beans do - you'll have to tie string along the canes to keep the peas upright

Dhoh! In 46 years of allotment growing I didn't realise that. I've always bumbled along with wire mesh which I re-use year after year. Wondered what I was doing wrong. 

[Growster...]

We definitely will be netting our peas, Brianc.

The sliding method - although I don't do this - seems to require something of a steady hand, and a gentle approach to moving the peas uniformly into a prepared row.

I'd also assume that if you are using plastic guttering, this is notorious for twisting, so you might well need someone to help keep everything steady, while you're transferring the seedlings by sliding them off the gutter, and slowly pulling the gutter along the row!

As for support, we use all sorts of netting - wire or plastic, and if any plants seem to be escaping, then as much string as necessary! One thing to make sure you do, is make room for picking between the rows, or at least making sure you can reach everywhere! I made the mistake of planting the rows too close last year, so there was Growster and Mrs Growster on their hands and knees, which is awkward as well as looking silly!

DD, who is the pea expert here, advocates a string system, and I'm sure he'll point you to his pea pictures, which usually put our own pea beds to shame...! You also might want to consider growing them up lots of twigs, to get them off the ground and away from slugs. You'll still need to net them though, to keep the pigeons away!

Welcome, by the way!

[DD.]

Peas don't grow up poles like beans do - you'll have to tie string along the canes to keep the peas upright

Dhoh! In 46 years of allotment growing I didn't realise that. I've always bumbled along with wire mesh which I re-use year after year. Wondered what I was doing wrong. 

The point being? Was there something incorrect in mumofstig's reply? I can't see where wire mesh was mentioned. She was commenting on gowing up poles.

[brianc]

Hi all.
        Thanks for the replies, in answer to the problem of unsteady guttering i have used 5ft lengths which
        are quite stable , if i slide the peas out in 2 goes  ie half the gutter length i should be alright.