8 August 2008

Learning to pea

This year has been the first where I have successfully grown peas and I could not be more proud. I have tried in the past but not even managed germination. Unless you count the experiment we did in our 3rd year at school where we soaked a dried pea and then germinated it in a test tube with some cotton wool so we could learn about the different parts of a seed. But a test tube pea doesn’t really count when it comes to satisfying the hunger for fresh produce, now does it?

Having remodelled the garden and taken care to prepare the beds properly (for once in my vegetable growing life) I suppose it was no great surprise that the seeds would sprout, but that didn’t stop me from having very little faith in them. I threw some Little Marvel seeds in and crossed my fingers but did not hold my breath. Besides, even if the plants grew, I knew enough people who had got that far and who only managed to pick a couple of pods. So why should I expect to ever eat peas from my own garden? I’m the woman who went for years without ever managing to successfully grow courgettes, for goodness’ sakes!

When the first shoots appeared I was pleasantly surprised. When the plants grew big enough to hold onto the twiggy sticks I was encouraged. When I saw the first flower I was impressed. And when the first pods started to appear I was overjoyed. It was then that the trouble started.

You would think that only a total novice would neglect to look at the seed packet to determine how high their pea plants will grow, wouldn’t you? In fairness, as I did not expect the buggers to grow at all, you can hardly blame me for not expecting them to turn out to be giants. So, they very quickly outgrew their twiggy sticks and started to flop. Still. According to the info on the OGC pages, these plants grow to be approximately 75cm tall. So how come, having flopped over onto the bean poles, mine started growing upwards again and reached nearly 2m tall? Little Marvel, indeed.

Yesterday I removed the last of the pods and pulled up the spent plants. We’ve had a little over 3kg of peas which is not a kings’ ransom but is very respectable for a first proper go. Next year – better support (always a consideration when I’m gardening) and a bigger harvest. Fingers crossed.

Filed under: Veg showcase — Clare @ 1:31 pm