peas not growing

[the big lebowski]

hi all i have been growing peas this year but im having problems with them ,i started them off in cells indoors and they grew about 20 cm no probs ,i moved them up the plot and they have chicken wire attached to posts to grow up but they are not hooking onto them they are just flopping on the floor ,i give them a good water everyother day and keep the slugs away with pellets ,not sure what im doing wrong ,will they grow taller soon ? am i just being impatiant ? anythoughts welcome ,cheers

[burnie]

Mine are pretty rubbish compared to everything else in the garden, though the Petit Pois in the hanging basket are flowering

[rary]

hi all i have been growing peas this year but im having problems with them ,i started them off in cells indoors and they grew about 20 cm no probs ,i moved them up the plot and they have chicken wire attached to posts to grow up but they are not hooking onto them they are just flopping on the floor ,

You could try giving them a helping hand by lifting them up to the wire and lightly pinning the stem to the wire with a clothes peg or similar

[Potstubsdustbins]

^^^^That's what I would do nature sometimes needs a helping hand, I also thread my runners through their support netting.

[the big lebowski]

they are not quiet tall enough to be tied into the chicken wire ,i left a gap to make it easy to weed ,maybe ill knock the posts in more and lower it ,cheers

[nickdub]

What variety are your peas ?

[the big lebowski]

wilkos lol ? they just say wilkinsons early onwards

[nickdub]

OK - did a quick Google and this is the general info :- "Early Onward are dwarf peas and you can expect them grow to a height of 60cm / 24in and a spread of 25cm"

Not sure what your weather has been like, but its been v dry round here for the last few weeks so its possible the ground as got a bit too dry. However with the variety you have, the plants were never going to be huge.

Best advice, sow some more now and give them plenty of water unless you get heavy rain.

[Earthgirl Jen]

lebowksi you don't say how healthy your pea plants are?

I left mine to long in cell trays, they were like yours 20cms high but they didn't like having their roots constricted this year. Once I planted them in the ground we had some really hot weather, I didn't water enough and they nearly all sulked, resulting in forced pea pod production and yellowing and eventually dying off of leaves. My second sowing that were planted a soon as they were 2" high were much better and I'm expecting some cropping from them in the next couple of weeks.

Because I still had some space I just stuck some peas in the ground in between the gaps last week and these are just starting to show.

As I grow peas mainly to eat raw as I check what else is going on in the garden! I'm hoping I'll be chomping right through until sept!

[the big lebowski]

health wise they look good nice and green and they look quiet stocky ,they had good rootballs and some roots popping out the bottom of the cells ,even the ones that had the tops eaten by slugs are looking healthy now ,im hoping they start getting taller ,cheers

[ESBkevin]

Peas are one of the few things I struggle with. For some reason half my plot struggles to grow them but the other half is quite succesful, they were all from the same field 15 years ago and so the location is baffling!
Have you had success in that bed with peas before? If so what else has changed?

[bikermike]

This isn't much help now, but I have found peas and beans to be the one thing that does better planted directly into the ground - I think they grow too quickly for their roots in pots/modules and then conk out.

[the big lebowski]

ok thx for the help everyone ,ive been chatting with others up the plot and they said i should cover them with next year so i think we will try ,plant seeds in the ground ,slug pellets and netting to cover all bases ,cheers