‘Don’t like to be dry’: Monty Don shares how to sow peas properly for sweet crop in summer

Gardeners' World: Monty Don provides advice on sowing peas

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Springtime is when gardeners can prepare their gardens for the summer months, including starting to sow their own crops. There are lots of benefits to growing your own fruit and vegetables including having fresh produce without any chemicals as well as it being cheaper. In tonight’s episode of Gardeners’ World, Monty Don showed viewers how to sow peas.

Peas can be sown from February all the way through until June when they can then be harvested.

They are easy to grow from seed and can be sown either outdoors or indoors to get them off to an early start.

Monty said: “As you can see I’m sowing some peas, which is an appropriate thing to do…today is Earth Day.

“The idea is to make everybody aware of the importance of the environment and if we expect the Earth to look after us, which we do from food, then we have to look after it.

“Growing any veg in your garden is a very good idea and now this is a variety called Hurst Green Shaft which is a tall, old fashioned pea.

“Now the important thing is to choose your variety, there are lots of different varieties of peas.”

There are lots of varieties to pick from, including mangetout and sugarsnap, which tend to be the easiest to grow.

Different types of peas also mature at different rates.

DON’T MISS:
Use £2 toothache remedy to get rid of ants in homes quickly [EXPERT]
Lawn: ‘Now is the perfect time’ to ‘revive’ damaged grass – how to [COMMENT]
Houseplants: ‘Easiest’ way to check if your plant needs repotting [EXPLAINER]

Monty added: “But I always grow them the same way, which is in a very very shallow trench.

“I put three across on this but two would do and you need to leave enough room between the rows so you can get at them.

“So cover those over gently.

“These are a crop that don’t like to be dry and they don’t like to be too hot, so don’t let them dry out.

“If we have a really hot summer, then that’s not good for peas.”

According to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), the soil should be warmed if the weather is too cold to sow peas directly outside.

They said: “Warm with polythene or cloches before sowing, then protect seedlings with horticultural fleece.

“Still, peas generally prefer cooler weather and grow well in a cool spring.”

Gardeners should also add a thick layer of mulch around the base of the plants to prevent the soil from drying out.

RHS added: “Most peas, apart from dwarf cultivars, need supports to scramble up.

“For taller varieties, trellis, bamboo canes and netting are ideal, while smaller varieties can be supported with pea netting or pea stocks.”

Monty Don used pea sticks to help support his crop.

When harvesting, they should be eaten as quickly as possible for maximum sweetness.

Source: Read Full Article