Good enough to eat

HOW to reap a rich harvest of peas

If you want delicious peas straight from the pod throughout summer, you need to sow maincrop and mangetout varieties a couple of times in spring, and early kinds every three weeks for succession.

For the best results, sow peas into deeply dug, well-manured ground and spread lime on the surface if the soil is acid. Net the area to stop birds and add supports when the first tendrils appear. Unless you’re growing dwarf cultivars, peas need bamboo canes and netting to scramble up.

Round peas tend to be hardier than wrinkled varieties. When they start to flower, water them well and add a mulch around the base of the plants to conserve moisture.

For the earliest crops, start hardy varieties outdoors in late winter under cloches or in pots in a cold frame. Peas like to be cool, so keep them moist and give midsummer crops late shade. And remember to space seeds.