Pea'd off!!

[energysaving]

You could try tasting one of the side shoots - edible pea shoots taste fresh and vaguely pea flavoured, sweet pea shoots taste yukky. (I was nipping off the tops of my dwarf sweet peas and ... well,you can guess the rest.) I'm still here, so obviously not toxic, but don't take a big bite

I'm disappointed with my mange tout performance in the back and started some more a week ago, to go in the front. Don't know if it will work though.

[chadspad]

Im sure I was eating some of them when planting and they were yummy like normal. Just so unusual to see these beautiful flowers.

Ive tried peas and mange tout later on in the year but never had much success, they just dont grow at the same rate they do early in the year.

[Green Aura]

Maybe you need a couple or three varieties - some may do better later on.

[Odsox]

Indeed, maincrop varieties like Onward, Hurst Greenshaft etc can be sown up to the middle of next month, and I have grown early ones in the autumn, but that can be a bit risky.
Mange Tout, particularly Oregon Sugar Pod, I grow continuously spring, summer, autumn & winter, but only summer ones outdoors.
I think peas are most definitely a cool climate crop, so maybe it's a tad too warm in the summer where you are Chad.

[chadspad]

I think youre right Odsox. Im sure all the peas you can buy here have at most a 4 month sowing season and I never grow enough in that short time lol.

[Millymollymandy]

I have a couple of these pink and purple rogues growing in amongst my white flowered mange touts! They are taller than the others too. I'll try to do a taste comparison.

[chadspad]

Yes they are a lot taller arent they? The pods look normal so far. These plants are much prettier than normal peas

[Millymollymandy]

Nice to have some colour in the veg patch and as my sweet peas are only about 5 inches tall I'll be waiting a while for colour from them. What colour I have no idea as they were freebie seeds from a gardening mag!

[chadspad]

Seems the pretty flowered peas arent doing too well. The pods are very flat, the peas dont seem to be developing and they just dont look right which is a shame.

Have had rubbish luck this year with broad beans too. Normally theyre our best crop - we grow lots of them. This year we have only 1 or 2 pods on each plant, there are no more flowers and the plants are only a fraction of the height they usually are. Anyone else had probs with broad beans this year?

[grahamhobbs]

The only problem we've had is getting to them fast enough to beat the squirrel, grrr!!! you can net things against pidgeons and magpies easily enough but squirrels...............

[Millymollymandy]

Funny you should mention it as I've just been having a taste test of regular mange tout and the rogue ones. The rogue ones don't taste of anything (the others are sweet). I wonder if it is the same plant and you are letting them turn into peas whilst I am going to treat them as mange tout?!

Broad beans are very short but they weren't that great last year either as mine get seriously attacked by blackfly. Haven't needed to support them this year at all!

[JessieMac]

The mange tout seeds I got from the Real Seed Co called Golden Sweet Yellow look just like your photo except they are growing very tall but the seed pods are growing well so fingers crossed.