Peas with rounded seed (eg.'Meteor', 'Pilot') can be sown in October to develop slowly over the winter and be ready to start for an earlier crop the next year - they can also be sown in the spring. Varieties with wrinkled seed (eg.'Onward', 'Klevedon Wonder') are not as tolerant of wet conditions so should be sown in the spring. Sow directly from March until June for a succession of crops to be ready from July to October. Put two or three seed per station every 5cm in rows 60 cm apart. (the extra seed per station are to allow for losses to mice, slugs and rot). As for beans the losses can be reduced by raising small plants in pots or modules, but the roots like to develop deeply so plant them out as soon as possible.
Another method of raising indoors is to use lengths of roofing gutter filled with compost and sown with the peas. These can be covered with fine mesh or suspended from the potting-shed roof, to keep the mice at bay. When the young plants are about 10 to 15 cm high the spouting can be taken to the outside bed and the contents slid into a prepared trench - it maybe necessary to loosen the long root mass from the sides of the spouting first.
Peas no not need any feeding after the initial preparation of the bed which should have been well manured earlier. The addition of bonemeal gives a slow release feed and liming helps them to thrive better.
When they are about 15cm high put up some netting or use pruned branches (pea sticks) for them to scramble up.
They can be attacked by Pea Beetles which develop inside the seed, making then inedible.
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