Well my pea harvest for the year has finished...it wasn't a fantastic harvest but I had enough for a few dinners and to eat some raw so it wasn't a total waste but I thought I could share with you some thoughts from last season, this season and what I hope to do next season!!
Last year was my first year of my allotment and so I followed exactly what was written on the packets when planting out which meant I took an awful lot of room planting my peas exactly so far apart in the zig-zag fashion they instructed...this made my Dad laugh quite a bit as I used so much room and he told me that I could have just sprinkled them along in a line...whoops.
Anyway then the wildlife started getting to them and with no nets or hoops I did my rather fantastic maze of string and sticks which seemed to work and although I planted late and the peas weren't ready until August I had a good harvest.
This year I planted my peas in a line and at the right time of the year so they came a lot earlier...they came through a lot quicker than I expected so I still lost a few to wildlife but I soon got them netted and hooped so I still had quite a few pea plants!!
The problems.....Because I only netted them they had nothing to grow up and although a few of them managed to catch the netting most of them grew along the ground which meant a few of the peas were rotted before they were ready. Also those that had managed to catch the netting meant that the plants were harmed when I wanted to remove the netting for harvesting.
The pluses....because they were netted I didn't have any bugs in my pods...I also didn't get any bugs in my pods last year even though they weren't netted but I think that this was due to the fact that they went in the ground a lot later so they moths that lay in the flowers had perhaps passed.
Kate my allotment neighbour didn't net her peas and has had A LOT of bugs in them. So in conclusion...for next year I will stick the peas that I plant and net them too.....this should hopefully stop the bugs inside the pods and the growing veg rotting... I have learnt from my mistakes and I hope you can learn something from my mistakes too!!
4 hours ago
Wow, your garden is big. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteI netted my peas too. Nothing worse than finding bugs in the pods, urgghhh!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, we lived in the country on a farm. My family rented the house and a farmer rented the barns and grounds. But we had the room for a big ol' garden and I remember it fondly. Dad grew a big variety, sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans, egglant, spinach, watermelons, carrots, and probably a lot more I can't remember. We also had a separate potato patch and I remember that because of an apricot tree and a grapvine, Mom always made jellies.
ReplyDeleteNice blog!
glad I could help you reminisce and glad you enjoyed the blog!!
ReplyDelete