HOW TO GROW PEAS

How many?	Three plants provide peas for one survivor-day of vitamin C
On the table	June to September
Rotation group	Legumes
Plants per m2	Forty
Sowing	Sow in batches monthly from mid-February to late April, in 5 cm module trays, two to a module, 2.5 cm deep. Keep the seed compost more than just moist (pea seed needs water to swell) and at 10º C or higher until germination (seven to ten days). Then thin to one seedling per cell. Prick out into 9 cm pots and grow on somewhere cool and bright until they’re 15 cm high and (relatively) pest-proof. Harden off for a week or so, then plant out 10 cm apart in a double row 25 cm apart.
Feeding	Use an all-purpose fertilizer at planting-out time.
Watering	Not too much between germination and when the shoots reach 50 cm tall, but keep them steadily moist once they’re flowering, and also when the pods are swelling.
Harvesting	Once the first pods begin to set, check every few days for readiness: mangetout and sugar snap pods can be picked once they reach 7.5 cm; podding peas should be picked when the pods are swollen but still green and the seed inside has filled out nicely. Pick every few days, starting at the bottom of the plant and working upwards.
Main enemies	Mice will raid module trays, so keep them with you in the house, or hang them up high somewhere rodents can’t climb/leap/gyrocopter up to. Protect from birds with a fence of twigs and/or bird netting. Slugs are a problem until plants are 12 cm high or so. Powdery mildew can hit leaves in high and late summer, so don’t let the soil dry out. Pea weevil and pea moth are more prevalent from midsummer on, so after May protect rows with insect mesh. Fusarium root and/or neck rots are more likely to attack and kill individual plants if you overwater. Don’t overwater.
Pot-ability	The most vigorous podding varieties, such as ‘Ambassador’ or ‘Alderman’, will be too top-heavy for most containers. Instead use ‘Hurst Greenshaft’ or ‘Douce Provence’, or very short, very early varieties like ‘Havel’ and ‘Charmette’ in pots 20+ cm deep. For sugar snaps, ‘Cascadia’ is a good container option, and the mangetout ‘Norli’ grows to only a dinky 50 cm. Remember to give them all some support, and protect as you would in open ground.