[KT]

I've grown a small row of mangetout, a few weeks ago it produced a small handful of pea's but it's gone abit quiet, is that it done? or will it produce more?

[barney rubble]

Mine have only just started flowering, so can't say what will happen- but there are lots of mangetout growers on here who can advise

[Jay Dubya]

Hi, once they get started they just keep cropping, it's been very dry maybe a drop of water.

[Lee G]

Have you any more flowers on them?

It's my first attempt at them this year and although growing well seemed slow to show any fruit, picked 10 good sized ones last Sunday and when I went Tuesday there were loads, so picked them and ate them the same night, my wife popped down today and tells me there are loads more on again, so I'm off to pick some more in a minute when I go to water.

The packet says "pick regularly for the best yields", the variety is Mangetout Oregon Sugar Pod from Wilko's.

[Bernard]

Once they start, they crop so fast you can't keep up with them. If KT's has started and then stopped there must be something seriously wrong.

[KT]

The plants look healthy there are no sign's of anything wrong.

i've been watering regualy, there are a couple of flowers here and there, so they are still sort of producing i picked 2 pea's (just 2) last night. It just doens't seem to be producing as much as i expected.

I only did a short row because to be fair we only use mangetout in a couple of meals like stirfry where you only need a small handful mixed in with loads of other veg. I've got a 2nd row i planted a couple of weeks coming up but it will be a while before that produces anything.

[savbo]

what's a short row in your definition? I planted about a dozen Oregon Sugar Pod in a 1.2m row and as of last week it's producing a big handful every day...

[KT]

I mean a REALLY short row, only about 9 plants as i said im only really looking for maybe 1 handful a week in total.

the plants did a have a bit of a bug problem last week.. well to be fair i noticed one plant had some aphid's so i delt with those and treated the whole row just in case.

Also i have noticed that a couple of the older plants leaves at the base of the plant are dying, i assumed this was normal as there is also new growth showing though ?

I'll Take a picky in a min when i get dressed, cause im still in my pj's 

[KT]

some Quick Pick's

the bottom of the Plants




Top of the plants appear quite healthy




The only problem i can spot is one or two of the leaves seem to have some kind of burrowing insect on them? whats the best way to deal with that im guessing traditional aphid remedy's wont work?? should i just take those leaves off?

[Lewjam]

i tend not to plant rows, i plant them sparadically across a small area it they always grow into a bush - i have got loads from it so far and plenty more flowers budding out also.

(Im not saying this is right but it seems to work for me!)

The more you pick the more you get - the problem with only having a few plants, is that you often have to wait to get a full boil, so your not encouraging the plant to produce more flowers on a regular basis.

[savbo]

look fine to me KT - sure they'll get going soon... maybe got a bit dry hence the dead leaves?

M

[peapod]

look fine to me KT - sure they'll get going soon... maybe got a bit dry hence the dead leaves?
M

That was my impression too, pick off the dead leaves (if you havent already) and pick as many ready/semi-ready pods as you can find to stimulate it more. Make sure they are well watered as the flowers are setting too
It also depends on the variety, some may simply not be as productive as others, or make bigger pods but less of them

[KT]

Arh thanks guys it was only thier first crop and then we did have a spell of dry but cloudy misrable weather so condition's haven't been ideal.

They are in also in a tub (my 2nd set is in the ground) so i guess it's possible they dried out. Also I did have some small little gem lettuces in the front of the pot but i took all of those out because i thought perhaps they where compeating too much. I'll strip off the dead leaves when i get home from work and see how they do.

would they benifit from a feed? Also what about the little burrowers? they only seem to be on a few leaves maybe 4-5 leaves in total across 9 plants worth stripping those leave too ?

They where only cheap from poundland, tbh the pea they produce is abit thicker skinned than i would normally expect for mangetout. The packet is foreign i think they are called "suger snap" (my translation skill's are somewhat limited im afraid)

I do have a small 3ft space left in the soil along the sunny fence any suggestions on a good variety i could buy and plant in it for a test? see if they do better? i use them for stir fry mostly so i'd like a thin skinned variety?? im looking for a handful a week really possibly a few more so i could freeze some.

[peapod]

Sugar snap are thicker and usually smaller in length than mange tout - google both and you'll see what I mean. Yes pull the leaves off with the critters on and see if you can find any sneaky ones hiding.  Give a half strength standard feed (not too much or it will be worse for them)
Now I know they were in containers in does sound like they dried out, so they can recover, but not lookin too promising on the large harvest front.

As for varities, I dont know any off the top of my head, but look for quick growing ones (earlies) or you'll miss the season

[HLS]

I think sugar snaps aren't quite the same thing as mangetout - you eat the whole pod but it's a bit thicker and rounder and supposedly sweeter.   Mind you, that's going on Tesco's labelling as I haven't tried growing sugar snaps and this is my first year for mangetout.

I'm also growing some in a pot and some in the ground - the ones in the pot have grown taller but like yours seem to have suffered a bit from drought (I was away for a couple of days last week, so they probably got dry then).  Some lower leaves are looking a bit dry and while the flowers that were out already have produced some very nice mangetout there are hardly any new flowers.  I've given them a good soaking and hope they'll start flowering again.  The variety I'm growing is a golden mangetout from the Real Seed Company (http://www.realseeds.co.uk) which has gorgeous pink/purple flowers and yellow pods.  Very attractive and much easier to see than the green sort!  I can't really swear to their cropping potential yet, but I know there are other people on here who have grown them and who started earlier than I did, so they may be able to tell you how they've done.