Planting and harvesting peas.

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!!

My pea shoots just coming through in 2008

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.

My stick and string maze (2008)

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.

My pea harvest (2008)

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!!

My netted peas (2009)

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.

You can sea some of the pea plants already grabbing the netting.

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.

The peas..uncovered to be harvested..some damage already done

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!!

No more peas...sniff!!