[hubballi]

I have had my peas and beans soaking in a shallow tray of water for 2 days now. How long before they should be planted ?

[DD.]

I don't soak peas and am not considering sowing any until the end of the month. The ground is way too cold. I would say overnight max for soaking them.

What sort of beans are we talking of?

[hubballi]

Broad beans. It's in my subject header 

[DD.]

D'oh!

[bigben]

I planted some I had soaked for around 5 hours on Sunday but discovered a possible problem. As they soak they of course soften, in taking the jar that I had emptied the water from to my allotment, a few of them looked a bit squished. I hope they are ok.

[muckshifter]

DD might say I'm mad on account of the fact I soak my peas in paraffin over night before sowing, its the only method thats worked for me to keep the dratted mice from eating them.
It dosent seem to affect germination,growth or crop though.

[DD.]

That's a well known technique.

I use pegged down debris netting, it's too heavy for them to lift up!

[bigben]

DD might say I'm mad on account of the fact I soak my peas in paraffin over night before sowing, its the only method thats worked for me to keep the dratted mice from eating them.
It dosent seem to affect germination,growth or crop though.

I found that diluting hot chilli sauce and then using it to water the area they are being planted in does the same job. I think the germinating peas release a smell the mice love and any other strong smell can help to mask it. Once the peas are up the mice seem to leave them alone until they have pods.

[stompy]

Dependant on how many peas you are after growing (this will be no good for D.D.  ) you can start your peas off in guttering in an un heated greenhouse then after germination, just slide the lot out into a ready made guttering shaped trench.

As for the beans, i've never had a problem with mice getting to them, but you could just sow them in pots and plant out when they've germinated.

[hubballi]

I took them out of the water last night and lay them on kitchen towel. This morning they are dry and still not sprouting. I gave them a light misting with water.

[mumofstig]

Plant them somewhere..they won't appreciate being wet and then left to dry out.

[galen]

There is no way I plant as many peas as some on here (    ) but for what I grow on my half allotment plot I chit my  peas in a large tupperware container linned with, I suppose, wet kitchen towel, hide them somewhwere dark and as soon as half have started sprouting (only takes a few days) plant them outside using, roughly, DD's spacings. Seems to have done well, from my point of view, over the past couple of years. 

Oh, and Broad Beans I start in richies pots / loo rolls / whatever your preference  because only having a small plot only want a dozen or more plants so once again it's not that much of a hassle. As well as starting chilli and sweet peppers, for inside growing, I find it keeps these quite months a bit acitve 

[DD.]

plant them outside using, roughly, DD's spacings.

I hope you don't think I perfectly plant all my rows in such precision, I've got better things to do with my time!

In practice I throw them in by the handful and hope for an average of those spacings, with a few extra to allow for losses.

I really do recommend that if you can, find a source of loose seed. I costed it out once and it was 20 times more expensive to buy them in packets. That way you can afford to sow a few extra.

[Sweet Pea 2]

I found a little shop in North Devon, although I didn;t seel the Peas loose, they must buy them loose and then bag them up in Brown paper bags.  I must try and find somewhere that sells them loose for next year, or a later crop this year. 

When do you need to plant the peas by to avoid pea moth?

[DD.]

I like to go for late March/Early April.