#GGGROWALONG: PEAS
This week we are launching #GGGrowAlong - a sharing project, where Global Gardens shares seeds and information about growing. We are also launching the #GGPeasPleaseTrials which will culminate in a #GGPeaFestival later this summer.
You can join us by sowing and growing peas at home.
Thanks to support from the Veg Advocates Programme, we have a range of peas available for you to trial at home.
Peas will be available at the Global Gardens Volunteer Sessions on a Saturday (10-1), Wednesday (10-12 midday) and Thursday (4-6pm) or at a number of local independent businesses (Locations TBC).
We are featuring four varieties as part of the #GGgrowalong grown by the Seed Cooperative.
Stephen, Ediculture explains how to sow peas the old school allotment way - in trenches.
Poppy, Global Gardens explains how to sow peas in pots for back gardens and small spaces.
Carouby de Maussane
Purple flowering mange tout type. Large pods with excellent flavour. Grows 160-180 cm tall.
Hurst Green Shaft
Second early variety which carries a heavy crop of 10-12 cm long pods of exhibition standard. Matures over a longer period than most varieties. Height: 75 cm.
Blaushokkers
A tall beautiful purple flowered pea with purple pods. Can be eaten young as a mange tout or leave to mature. Height 180-200cm.
Sugar Dwarf Sweet Green
A dwarf sugar pea (mangetout), grows up to 60 cm high.
Follow on @GlobalGardensProject instagram with the hashtag #GGGrowalong to see how others are growing and share your own story of growing alongside a community.
Peas/Growing Instructions
-Sow between March - June. We recommend sowing in March/April for an early crop of peas.
-Top tip: Before sowing, we soak the peas in a jar, or bowl, or what you have to hand, for 24 hours.
-Sow in pots or in trenches...If sowing inside, sow 2-3 seeds in 7cm pots in compost about 3cm deep and put in a sunny well draining location. Or you can use guttering. If sowing outside, sow seeds in trenches about 3cm deep and 10cm apart. You could create 2-3 trenches per bed, with 30-40 cm between each trench.
-Cover the peas with soil and water and seedling should appear within two weeks.
-Once peas are around 7-10cm you can plant them out with spacing of around 10cm. -Peas have tendrils which wrap themselves around structures, and so we use "plant supports" such as sticks and netting, staking these in the soil, giving the peas ample place to climb.
Peas should be ready for harvest about 3 months after sowing.
