Peas

[serenity]

I have just about grasped the early vs main potato idea and have herd the same terms mentioned in relation to peas. Could someone explain this to me . Do some peas take longer to develop or are they just more suitable to colder conditions. Also could someone tell me how high the popular types of pea grow as I have herd that the vary considerably and don't know how high to make my supports. The peas I have bought are kelvedon wonder.

[Nicos]

I grew peas for the first time last year after a gap of 10 years( prefered french beans)!
Same variety as you!!!
They grew between 2-3 ft tall and were fantastic-sweet,plump, and plenty of them.
Will be growing them again for sure this year...and have allocated a larger area for them!!
I just followed the instructions on the packet.

[pigletwillie]

Kelvedon Wonder are the only none heritage variety that I grow. As Nicos says they are a very good pea and grow up to around waist high.

If you sow a row (even a short row) every 2-3 weeks you can pick them for most of the summer and autumn and if you leave a few of your last sowing to dry out, you have seed for next year.

Wrinkled varieties are hardier and are used as an early variety but I never bother as unless you cloche them and cosset them you gain no really huge advantage over later sown varieties.

[rustylady]

Most veg (and flower) seeds have growing instructions on the packet. They also usually state how high the crop can be expected to grow. A very good book is Dr Hessayon's "Vegetable Expert". This gives you planting distances, expected height and yield, and also tells you how long you can expect stored seed to remain viable.