How to grow Peas (Garden)
in the UK

Peas are a proper cracking vegetable to grow on the allotment, to be honest. They're a legume, easy enough for beginners, and nothing beats the taste of 'em fresh from the pod. You'll get a real good crop that tastes miles better than anything from the shops, you know what I mean.

Sowing

You can sow peas direct outdoors from March right through to June, which means you can have a long harvest. Just pop 'em about 3-5 cm deep and leave about 5-7 cm between each seed in a row. If you're doing more than one row, give 'em about 60 cm between each row, or sow them in a block for support. The soil needs to be about 10°C, so don't rush it if the ground's still cold after winter. Sowing a small batch every couple of weeks, that's what we call 'successional sowing', means you'll have fresh peas for ages, not just one big glut.

Growing on

If you've bought plug plants, get them in the ground once any risk of a hard frost has passed, usually mid to late May up here in the North East, a bit earlier down south. Most varieties, especially the tall ones, will need some support. Pea sticks are traditional, or you can use netting strung between posts. It helps them climb and keeps the pods off the ground. For dwarf varieties, or if you're a bit short on space, they're dead easy to grow in containers, just make sure the pot's a decent size, say 30 cm deep and wide.

Looking after it

Peas like a good drink, especially when they're flowering and the pods are forming, so keep 'em well-watered if it's dry. They don't need masses of feeding if your soil's decent, maybe a bit of balanced feed if they look a bit yellow. Keep the weeds down around them, 'cause they'll compete for water and nutrients. You don't really pinch them out or anything like that, just let them get on with it.

What goes wrong

The main things to watch out for are pea moth and aphids. Pea moth can lay eggs on the pods and you end up with grubs inside, not what you want. Aphids can weaken the plants, so blast 'em off with water or squish 'em by hand if you spot 'em. Slugs and snails will have a go at the young plants too, so keep an eye out and use your preferred method to protect them. Good air circulation helps keep fungal issues at bay.

Harvest

You'll be harvesting your peas about 70 days after sowing, usually from June to September. Pick the pods when they're plump and firm, but before the peas get too big and starchy. The more you pick, the more the plant will produce, so keep at it. They're best eaten fresh, straight from the plot, but if you get a cracking glut, they blanch and freeze really well. Just pod 'em, boil for a minute or two, then cool quickly and freeze.