Growing Mange Tout up canes

[ItsEssexRob]

Hey there everyone, new year new start, learning form my debut year I have decided to not grow Toms or Chillis this year due to the unpredictable British climate, and have focused on what worked best last year plus some new things.

One thing that worked well were French beans and Mange Tout, so I planted a lot more this year to ensure a better crop.

However one problem I seem to have with Mange Tout is getitng them to climb up their canes.

They flop a lot and hook tendrils out onto their neighbors or themselves and do not seem to entwine themselves onto the stick. I have tried tying them up to the cane as best as I can and hope this improves them.

Anyone got any tips for this? Also does it matter that I have 2/3 plants per stick, they dont need massive spacing do they? I'm sure Ive seen more than one plant per stick on allotments before.

Thanks

Rob

[rustylady]

Peas don't grow up canes - they don't twine round them like beans do.

What you need is netting.

[zazen999]

I stick a cane in the middle of my block planted ones, or stick 4 around the sides and put twine around it for them to hang onto. If the cane is in the middle, they cling onto each other and grow like a chimney.

[ItsEssexRob]

Ah I see, thats where Im going wrong then, anyone got a picture or link to what I need for the peas, and where I can buy it from? Will they grow without it?

[Hazel at the Hill]

This is the sort of thing I do, Rob - a cane wigwam with string whizzed round which the pea tendrils hang on to as they grow.

[ItsEssexRob]

I see, hopefully I can rearrange my agarden to do something like this.

Currently I have runner bean style structures with peas at each station. to avoid having to uproot everything could I se wrap netting around it like this?
GARDEN NETTING X 6 (2M X 10M EACH PACK) - SEEDS/FRUIT/POND/PEA/BEAN - NET/MESH | eBay

Or will it not work on the runner bean style set ups even with netting?

Thanks

[Hazel at the Hill]

Netting attached to the poles will work well - but I'd weave string in and out of the existing canes rather than netting.

Partly as you will have to attach the netting to the poles (and the netting is more expensive than string), but mainly because mucking with stretching out netting is one of the routes to being driven madder than a hatter!! Arghhhhhhhh!

[Likac66]

For mange tout, I do the same as Hazel - wigwam of canes with string. I let the mange tout grow to about 18" before starting the string, then I wrap the string round the outside of the plants to begin with then zig-zag it up the frame. Last year I tried growing it up netting up a fence and it wasn't anywhere near as productive.

I usually plant 12-16 plants round 6 canes.

[toby6668]

I got some of that rigid plastic fencing netting roll. Seems to be working ok. photo was taken a few weeks ago. They are about 18" up the net now.....mainly from this weekends sunshine!

[BertieFox]

I'm a supporter of the string solution. You only need two or three pieces of string tied round the wigwam at different heights and the peas seem to manage fine, though you might need to tuck the tendrils back into the centre of the wigwam from time to time.

[Thelma Sanders]

Another vote for the wigwam and string. Growing Realseed's Bijou mangetout up mine this year

[bearded bloke]

My first year trying mange tout & am growing up chicken wire supported & stiffened by canes

[eirish]

Another possibility is twiggy branches. I like beech because they grow in fairly flat planes and I have easy access to them but birch, larch, maybe hazel would all work well. Looks more natural than canes/netting/string if that matters to you.

[ItsEssexRob]

I will use string, however my peas are already planted and the canes are already formed into the shape you would use for runners, can I still circle string around them? They arent wigwam shaped but I can still make something resembling some of those structures with string I think.

[Hazel at the Hill]

I will use string, however my peas are already planted and the canes are already formed into the shape you would use for runners, can I still circle string around them? They arent wigwam shaped but I can still make something resembling some of those structures with string I think.

Yes - just weave string around your poles and the peas will soon grab on.