[rowlandwells]

for those of you who grow peas what is your favorite pea i grew early onward this year on the lottie quite a good cropper started them off in pots and then transplanted them into the lottie they never looked back  we put some in the freezer and we are now using them  i thought i would try another variety next year a wrinkled seeded type

i have also grown mange-tout the variety grown had an extremely sweet flavour but when i picked and cooked them they where a bit stringy perhaps i should have picked them a bit earlier whats your advise on growing mange-tout also do you grow your peas up sticks up wire or on the floor with no support  :

in your opinion what is the best pea to grow as a best cropper 

[mumofstig]

I find that sugaranne snap peas still have to be topped and tailed before you use them, but still love them to bits

For ordinary peas I grow Hurstgreenshaft, but this year i'm going to grow tall peas as well....
Alderman are they?...not quite sure without going to get the seed box

[solway cropper]

This year I only grew early onward and Lincoln which both performed well. I really like the victorian climbing peas (Alderman, I think) but didn't grow any this year due to germination failure (sown too early I guess). The climbers have a good long cropping period.

[andy135]

This year I only grew early onward and Lincoln which both performed well. I really like the victorian climbing peas (Alderman, I think) but didn't grow any this year due to germination failure (sown too early I guess). The climbers have a good long cropping period.

This is something which I have pondered over. I quite fancy gtowing Alderman which I believe grows to 6' but need to have the same gap between the rows, whereas a shorter variety growing to 2' only needs 2' between the rows.

Could someone please tell me if there is a benefit to either one?

[mumofstig]

This year I saw them grown on a frame just like climbing beans, so you only need a walking gap around the frame for picking

[gowing238]

This talk of peas has made me think. Where has DD gone. He is the pea expert!! Havent been told off by him for some time!!!!

[Chicken Pete]

We have grown Hurst Greenshaft for the last 2 years and they really did produce large pods with 8 to 10 peas in each pod and there were a lot of pods.
They appear to like freshly dug manure in th plot as each year I have dug in manure about 6 weeks before planting.
We are going for them again this year and putting them in the same ground!!

[Christine]

So far my best success has been with Twinkle (from T&M) which are self supporting if grown in blocks. I also found Jaguar to do well on my plot.

[Yorkie]

DD's having a sabbatical, has other things he has to do at the moment, I'm sure he'll be back when he can 

[Kleftiwallah]

Andy135.  I grow Alderman regularly and I've had them at 8 feet !  Always trying to get more from the same area of land, they tick all my boxes.    Cheers,    Tony.

[TheSpartacat]

Last year I grew Ambassador shelling pea, Sugar Bon sugar snaps and Bijou Mangetout (which have huge pods!!)
The Bijou Mangetout had a massive yield. (they grow tall so i made a chicken wire fence for them)
The Ambassador was a fairly good yield, but disappointed with the Sugar Bons... (perhaps because they're my fave and i cant get enough)

To be honest... the peas rarely make it home. My tea breaks on the allotment were always spent in the pea emporium, munching away!!! 

This year I'm planning on scaling up and growing a LOT more so that some peas actually make it as far as the kitchen!

The varieties of seed I have are:
Telephone Tall climbing pea
Champion of England tall climbing pea
Norli
Oscar
Hatif d'Annonay- early dwarf pea
'Golden Sweet' Yellow podded mangetout
Bijou Mangetout again, as i saved seed

I've also got some tiny amounts of Green Arrow and Oregon Snow Giant that i'm gonna grow in the garden, just for seed saving purposes so i can scale up a large amount for the following year!

I blimmin' LOVE peas, me!!! 

Does anyone know of any way to protect the tall varieties from the dreaded pea moth? ?

[mumofstig]

You can only drape fleece or environmesh down each side, can't think of another way  They are self fertile, so no worries about covering, but the fine mesh costs a fortune in quantity

[noshed]

I quite like Douce Provence but I'm glad I didn't sow any this autumn. The Oregon sugar snaps are nice, but I mainly eat them whilst weeding.

[bayleaf]

Yes i grew Oregon and did okay with them. Kelvedon Wonder early on, and then early Onward which I have grown for last three years with good results.

[Sweet Pea 2]

does the pea moth get Sugar Snaps as well as normal peas?