sowing peas now - can I?

[Chicken6]

Well I am left with space in my polytunnel due to the tomato plants being remove (blight) So I now have 2 x 20ft long beds to fill. The rest of the polytunnel won't be free until end of October currently filled with cucumbers,peppers and butternut squash.

I thought i would sow some pea's Hatif d'Annonay, an early dwarf variety. I have 720 seeds left.

Also on the short list to go in to make use of the space - a few spring cabbage, onions,fennel,carrots some swede and of course lettuce and beetroot.
Some of the above will of course be outside but I thought It would be nice to have some early to harvest

[Odsox]

Yes you can ... sorry no Bob the Builder smiley

Early peas take about 12 weeks to produce, so will flower in about 9 - 10 weeks or the end of October when there will still be active bees to pollinate *.
Then you will be picking them in mid November.

I usually sow mine about the end of October for an early spring crop, but I am also going to sow some shortly as I am trying several different varieties new to me.

(*) .. Not at all sure that peas really need pollinating as my October sown ones flower February/March when there are not many insects about and all the pods are still packed with peas. Although I suppose it could be resident beetles etc doing the job in the absence of bees.

[Broad Bean]

Peas don't need bees to pollinate, in fact most of the flowers are already pollinated by the time they open - which makes them the easiest seed in the world to save with confidence!

[Odsox]

Peas don't need bees to pollinate, in fact most of the flowers are already pollinated by the time they open - which makes them the easiest seed in the world to save with confidence!

Thank you for confirming what I had thought.
It also makes it one of the easiest crops to grow in a closed polytunnel during winter as well.

How about broad beans, do they need pollinating by insects ?

[Peggy Sue]

I think they do Odsox, I know they cross very easily with other BB so thats normally because of insects.

I've grown Hatif D'A, and seed saved them. I've still to conquor how many peas to sew at a time, I either sew not enough or too many, but that just me - can't blame the peas, the seasons or even the bees for that!!
Never give up though, I shall get there in the end and you learn something every year... this year is I don't need 6 marrow plants, last year was I don't need 3 rows of spinach

[Chicken6]

I think they do Odsox, I know they cross very easily with other BB so thats normally because of insects.

I've grown Hatif D'A, and seed saved them. I've still to conquor how many peas to sew at a time, I either sew not enough or too many, but that just me - can't blame the peas, the seasons or even the bees for that!!
Never give up though, I shall get there in the end and you learn something every year... this year is I don't need 6 marrow plants, last year was I don't need 3 rows of spinach

Oh thanks Peggy, I've been looking for some feedback concerning the variety. Kate at realseeds said they grew them for home use and they aproduce a reasonable yield. I've decided it's just not worth growing climbing peas as they are more dificult to cover.

I guess I would be looking at sowing 4000+ peas.

How many pods did you appear to get per plant as that would be a deciding factor in how many I sowed over the year. I was thinking 4/5 swoings of 1300 peas

any feedback would be so, so welcome.

on another note
Kate also said that I could save seed from tomato's that came from a plant that had blight as blight isn't seed borne. I have found that a variety I've been saving seed from appears to have good blight ristance. All the other tomato plants in my tunnel had to be cleared. My variety is still setting fruit and the current fruit is lush, nice size and colur.

[Mal]

I've sown them as well, from the same source. They're okay, they do grow in blocks without staking and they are pretty early. Certainly not as sweet as Hurst Greenshaft which I also grew this year but a good pea for early season. Quite a good crop from them too, but I can't really remember how many pods per plant I'm afraid.

[Odsox]

I think they do Odsox, I know they cross very easily with other BB so thats normally because of insects.

Thanks Peggy, that's what I thought too as my polytunnel early ones didn't start producing pods until there were obvious signs of bumble bees about.

I guess I would be looking at sowing 4000+ peas.

Wow !! You must really like peas or you have a big family.
I grew a 20 foot row of Onward peas and although I didn't count the seeds, a double row 2" apart would be roughly 240 seeds.
That produced several meals fresh and also 7 kg in the freezer.
I normally grow 2 rows, as I tried to do this year, but the second row was demolished by rust (as in another post)

[Chicken6]

I guess I would be looking at sowing 4000+ peas.

Wow !! You must really like peas or you have a big family.
I grew a 20 foot row of Onward peas and although I didn't count the seeds, a double row 2" apart would be roughly 240 seeds.
That produced several meals fresh and also 7 kg in the freezer.
I normally grow 2 rows, as I tried to do this year, but the second row was demolished by rust (as in another post)[/quote]

I try and grow so we have plenty in the freezer. Plus I also grow them as pea shoots.

When I plant my peas I do them in blocks which are 12ftx4ft I just scattor the seed which normally falls about 1inch apart and then cover with soil/compost. They grow fine even although most varities I've grown in the past were about 60cm high. I would aim to do this at least 4 times during the year. I then follow on with cabbages,kale,brussels etc. I grow in blocks for most things.

[Peggy Sue]

I struggle with chick weed and growing in blocks for peas. The chick weed is up first, the peas hang onto them so I can't weed them out and suddenly I can't find the pods in the jungle. I think thats what made me try climbers.