Peas PLEASE

Joe Lofthouse, Horticulturist at RHS Garden Harlow Carr with the essentials on growing the small, but mighty veg

At this time of the year the Kitchen Garden at RHS Garden Harlow Carr is looking neat and tidy, ready for the beds to be planted up. Some seeds have been sown and early lettuces have been planted out from the heated greenhouse. Be aware that we could have a frost until the end of May, so don’t get too carried away – later sown crops do catch up! In the Kitchen Garden we covered the annual vegetable beds with horticultural fleece to get the soil to a suitable temperature before sowing the seeds.

Peas

A hardy annual, Pisum sativum belong to the legume family. There are many types, from standard shelling peas which are grown for the peas from the pods to the flat-podded type, such as mangetout and sugar snaps. Dwarf and semi-leafless cultivars are also available.

Which type?

Peas are classified into groups according to the approximate time they take to mature: earlies, second earlies and maincrop varieties. Earlies are normally ready to pick around 11-12 weeks; second earlies from 12-13 weeks and maincrops at 13-14 weeks. Peas can be sown from as early as February and March, all the way through until early summer. For a late spring crop the following year, you can sow hardy overwintering types in a sheltered position from mid-late autumn. You might need to protect them using a cloche or horticultural fleece.

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