Gardeners' World: Monty Don interrupted by dog sowing seeds
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Garden peas are one of the most popular types of vegetables in the UK, as they’re nutritious and very versatile. You may be tempted to try growing your own peas this year as they’re very easy to look after.
Peas are the small, spherical seeds that come from pods of the Pisum sativum plant.
They’ve been grown and eaten all over the world for hundreds of years.
There’s nothing quite like the taste of your own freshly-grown peas.
Growing them in your back garden is incredibly easy, and they’re well suited to the UK climate.
When to plant peas
Peas prefer to be in the soil during the spring to early summer, according to Thompson & Morgan.
The best time to plant them would be between March and June, it added.
Ideally, the soil would have warmed to at least 10 degrees Celsius, as they don’t like growing in cold, wet soil.
In warmer parts of the country, some peas can be grown in late autumn, ready for the following early spring.
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“Peas are a cool season crop, enjoying temperatures of 13 – 18C [55-64F], so they are well suited to the UK climate,” it said.
“Peas can be direct sown outdoors from March to June once the soil has warmed to about 10C [50F]. Using cloches will help the earliest crops to germinate.
“In mild areas, some hardy, early maturing cultivars can be sown in late autumn for overwintering and producing particularly early crops.
“However, mice are quite partial to overwintered pea seeds so keep an eye out for hungry rodents.”
If you’re hoping to have a steady stream of peas growing throughout the year, you should sow a new batch at least every two weeks.
You’ll definitely need to provide some support for the growths, as peas produce tendrils to help them grow upwards.
Birds are particularly partial to peas, however, so you might want to consider providing some protection for them.
Cover your trenches with netting immediately after sowing, and then feel free to remove them after germination.
You’ll want to be quite generous with watering your peas – especially after it starts to flower.
It’s best to give them a good water once every week to encourage healthy pea pods.
But, on the other hand, you should avoid giving them too much plant food.
Overfeeding your peas with nitrogen fertilisers could instigate more leafy growth than pea pods.
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