• Prepare your pea bed.   Dig it well in autumn, and add plenty manure or compost.   You may need to add lime in winter.
• There is a bewildering range of varieties - round and wrinkled, dwarf and tall, for every season; there's sugar and snap, petit and asparagus peas.   In addition, some varieties are more prone to mildews and rots (remove and burn affected plants, and if it's a real problem, choose resistant varieties).   I usually choose two varieties of wrinkled pea for spring sowing - these suit my preference for a short harvest period, when I freeze the glut.   And I love to have tall peas like my parents used to grow, so Alderman is now my first choice.
• Prepare a trench 6 inches wide by 2 inches deep, and sow the seeds about 3 inches apart in 3 rows (stagger them - like the 5 on a dice!).   If you are planting trenches side by side, they should be separated by a space equal to the height of the crop.   Don't sow too early, as the seeds will rot in cold or wet soil.   Cover the seeds with soil, and immediately -
• String garden twine across and along your pea bed - pigeons love them!   If mice are a problem, set a few mouse traps.
• When the plants are about 3 inches high, they will need support.   For shorter plants, sturdy and well-branched twigs are sufficient.   For taller varieties, I put a few canes firmly into the ground along the edges of the row, and weave twine fairly tightly - a new level of twine whenever the plants need it.
  • There are other ways - look around your neighbours' plots and use what works.   However, I will not be using plastic netting again.   It's hard to separate from the pea plants at the end of the season - so you have a choice; cheap enough to throw away, but not strong enough to do the job, or strong enough, but so expensive you really do not want to throw it away!
• Keep the weeds under control - by hand if necessary; and make sure they are well watered once plants start to flowers, and as the pods start to fill.
• Harvesting - don't let the peas get overlarge in each pod; they should not be touching or squeezing each other.   Pick from the bottom of the plant, using one hand to hold the stalk.   Making regular pickings before the peas reach full maturity will encourage later pods to fill out.
• When the plants are stripped, cut down the stems and compost them.   Leave the roots in the ground.

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Storing and Uses

Peas freeze very successfully, assuming any pods make it as far back as your kitchen!   Shell them, blanch them briefly in boiling water, and freeze (as fast as you can) on trays; store in freezer bags.

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