My Mange Tout!

[thecarnage]

Hi!

My Mange Tout is beginning to yield some goodies!

It's the first time I've grown them so not sure what to expect so sorry for the rubbish questions. Google has been a friend of mine but I think other people's experience is better to answer some of the following questions:

When do I pick them? Do they just fall off? Will birds or pests eat them? When you pick off the mange tout will another one grow behind it?

Thanks all. (sorry for the big pics)



Also look at my lovely toms and aubergines

[BumbleB]

Lovely pics, well done they all look great.

[Lemon]

When do I pick them? Do they just fall off? Will birds or pests eat them? When you pick off the mange tout will another one grow behind it?

Hi,

Great pics!!! Well done! Haven't been able to get very far past germination of aubergine let alone your beauty!

Mangetout, one flower = one pea pod. The one in the foreground looks ready for picking - hard to tell how big it is though. Usually I would pick them when the flower falls off. The peas don't fall off. If you left them, they keep growing and growing.....the peas ripen and become larger. The peas then is tough to eat and you are just better off saving the seed. I think as most people would say, once you start picking veg, the plant will produce more flowers and fruit as it thinks it hasn't done it's job in reproducing seed for next year. When you leave things to ripen too long it can halt further flowers/veggies.

Oh, another mangetout will not grow behind the one you picked. I believe you are supposed to start picking from the bottom and the plant produces more flowers. Not sure when you pinch out top shoot to make plant bushy though.

Other than snails eating the leaves, I've been lucky enough not to have had any other predators.

[thecarnage]

Thank you Lemon - much appreciated. Have a badger.

[Lemon]

A badger?!?!! Why thank you thecarnage?!?!? Lol!!!

any other animals? actually. would rather a hedgehog - 'cos they eat slugs!!

Hehehehe!

[Keith2202]

Look very good thecarnage. That mangetout is ready for picking just as the peas are starting to form, I wouldn't wait for the flower to fall off, that would depend on wind etc Straight off the plant and into your mouth I'd recommend. Just like a packet of crisps but much more satisfying!

[WeeGarden]

The one in the front looks good for picking!

I picked the first harvest when the pods were about 7mm long and still fairly immature just because I couldn't wait. With all the recent rain, you'll find that they almost turn into monsters overnight! One flower = one pod.

On a slightly different note, how long will the plants produce for before they run out of steam? Should I be making a second sowing?

[Lemon]

Ummm...not sure as I'm pretty rubbish at successional sowing. They do say you should sow a few seeds every 2-3wks to ensure a longer crop and avoid gluts. I have a tendency to sow a bit of everything when I have bare ground, then everything is ready at once albeit it different stuff and then after harvesting, wonder what I'm going to sow next and wait for the next harvest.

I would sow more peas now so they are ready after these have finished. I tend to soak the peas in water and wait for them to sprout before putting in the ground. Seem quicker to come up that way and I get plenty of sugarsnap peas with no bother.

[rana]

The one in the front looks good for picking!

I picked the first harvest when the pods were about 7mm long and still fairly immature just because I couldn't wait. With all the recent rain, you'll find that they almost turn into monsters overnight! One flower = one pod.

On a slightly different note, how long will the plants produce for before they run out of steam? Should I be making a second sowing?

I think you mean 7cm long (that's nearly 3" in real money). As long as you keep picking, pod production will continue for about 4 weeks after which the plants deteriorate. Once this starts to happen I rip them out and dispose of them so those plants sown later (successional) don't get afflicted with disease or parasites.

Does anyone know how late a sowing one can get away with as I'm considering starting some more now?

[vikkib]

Look very good thecarnage. That mangetout is ready for picking just as the peas are starting to form, I wouldn't wait for the flower to fall off, that would depend on wind etc Straight off the plant and into your mouth I'd recommend. Just like a packet of crisps but much more satisfying!

I concur! Couldn't resist picking and munching the few that I've got on mine yesterday while doing the base for the greenhouse... hungry work!

[Alison]

Pick them fairly small and more will come. It depends on the variety as to how long they produce for, I'm growing yellow podded ones again and I found that they had a very long season and seemed to produce for most of the summer. Normally I sow in three batches, one in drain pipes back in March, a second one direct in mid May and another one in a week or sos time. Hope that this helps.

[WeeGarden]

Thanks for all the advice. Will start some off again this weekend in modules as I don't have any ground left.

At the rate it's going, we'd be sick of mange tout in 4 weeks time.