Starting Peas Indoors

[Potstubsdustbins]

2 Sheds we must order from the same chinese. I use exactly the same container fro my peas. Haven't thought about the damp kitchen towel before but will try it tonight as I have some chitting away.

Colin

[poohpouri]

I sowed mine in little modules and left them in the greenhouse(same as last year) and they have all sprouted

[Jono]

I've got loads of pots, and loads of places to PUT pots (and not so much soil), so I'm going to try a pot of peas as well as sticking them in the ground. See what happens



Am interested to know how big the container is, please? (Hey, I never said I wasn't nosy!)

Its actually one of these: recycleboxes.co.uk

My Council were chucking out some old ones and I was lucky enough to get a few. They're the perfect size.

[Croila]

- soak the seeds overnight in tepid water - I use a glass or plastic dish, it doesn't much matter
- in the morning, drain the water off
- cover peas with damp kitchen paper (optional, but it keeps the moisture in)
- rinse them every day
- when chitted I put the lids on to take them up the lotty

They are on a windowsill from day one: I'm not allowed to have seeds & plants anywhere other than windowsills


within 2-4 days at room temp

Thanks TS, that's really useful. But ... why do you rinse the peas? That seems a little odd to me?

[Two_Sheds]

If you don't rinse them, they start to ferment, rot and stink

Keep em clean, rinse off those bacteria

[Kristen]

Is it not also to get them wet? Just thinking out loud here ... but with smaller seed that I chit on kitchen paper (Parsnips for example) I put a sheet either side of them - "seed sandwich"

For larger seeds (Peas and Beans), or if there is a larger volume to be germinated, then I just put them loose in a Tupperware box with a lid, and rinse them 2 or 3 times a day - there is enough water left in the box to provide the moisture they need, and kitchen paper not really much in contact with the actual seed. Sometimes I put a sheet of kitchen paper in the bottom of the box too (but never done a side-by-side test to compare ...)

[Croila]

If you don't rinse them, they start to ferment, rot and stink

Keep em clean, rinse off those bacteria

Ugh, I never thought of that! Makes sense though.

[Alison]

I chit all my peas & beans first, so I can see which ones are viable, and I don't waste time & compost on those that don't germinate.

Do you find pea germination a problem then? I find that of the 50 odd I sowed a couple of weeks ago in guttering, all but a couple of germinated and if I was that bothered about them then I'd just stick and extra couple of seeds in. I find that along with brassicas they're about the most reliable thing for germination

[Two_Sheds]

Do you find pea germination a problem then?

No, but I sow the seeds direct, not into pots (usually). Sprouting them is meant to deter mice attack

[Alison]

No, but I sow the seeds direct, not into pots (usually). Sprouting them is meant to deter mice attack

Ah, see what you mean, I do my early ones in guttering but later ones direct - not really a mouse problem on our site, thankfully

[Currysniffa]

Thanks everyone, I've seen the guttering trick before on the lottie but I don't have the room at the mo so that's why I asked about chitting them so I can plaint them already germinated.

Thank I'm going to try it the T_S way when I've got the spot where I'm growing them ready...

[Davyburns]

My first time with peas, and intend growing them in pots against an East facing fence. I have 6 plants in the greenhouse, mange tout, kelvadon, and hurst, 2 of each, will those 30" ish troughs from wilkinsons be ok to put 3 each in?

[miker2d2]

what is the crop like from each plant?

i see the spacing is 3cm which can be in staggered rows like a zig zag, ie a 3m row could have 600 plants in? surely with this number it is easier to sow direct?

apologies if i'm missing something, first time with peas!! and mangetout which i gather are similar spacings/plants

Mike

[Two_Sheds]

I have 6 plants

That's not very many - I bet your peas don't even make it to the kitchen

surely with this number it is easier to sow direct?

Yes it is, that's why I sow chitted peas direct, not start them in pots first. I space them in a double row, each seed 5cm or so apart.

From 6 rows (no idea how many plants that is) I got a freezer bag full of peas (what you'd pay about 99p for in Iceland). Many more got eaten while picking

I would guesstimate that I get 6-8 pods from each (dwarf) plant, and about 6 peas in each pod

[VirginVegGrower]

That's a good idea, actually, warm up the soil! I think I will do. I think here in Edinburgh we're generally three weeks behind the standard recommended UK sowing times, as they seem to be based on the southern English climate. So, maybe seeing as my peas were just sown on Sunday, they might be ready to put in the ground late April?

Mice, ugh. I spilt a packet of bird seed in our garage a couple of weeks ago and now we have mice in there. Horrible things. My husband's doing something with traps and poison, dunno what, I'm keeping RIGHT out of it!

My OH is great at catching mice with a bucket and then he lets them back into the fields we back onto. We also have lots of cats up here. Two terriers are also a deterrent