I always grow green peas. They're just something we love to eat so I grow 'em. And I think we could sell some of 'em if we had enough. I didn't plant enough this year to sell (had a few to give away to a few people, but not enough to sell, plus put a bunch in the freezer).
I've grown short varieties that you don't stake, just let them run on the ground. I've grown a couple of varieties that get somewhere between 3' and 4' tall. We grew Lincoln peas this year, which are around 3.5', I think. We do like the flavor.
The thing I'm wondering about, though, is how to plant them to economize on the picking of them. This year, we planted a double row (maybe 8" or so apart) with a 4' chicken wire fence in between them. My dear wife laid down the seed and she made them pretty thick. They produced well, but... they're thick enough that they're a pain to pick and they're easy to miss when they're up close to the fence.
So I figured maybe I'd ask you all whether you have an idea of a better way to plant so that they're easy to pick. That's the bottleneck. Same method but thinner? Single rows but more like a cattle panel type fence (bigger openings)? Taller variety on a taller fence? Or somethin' else?
Generally, we do get 5 or so pickings off of them. I suspect that commercially, they'd rather grow something they can pick once, pick them all, and be done with them. I have never grown a variety that ripens all its peas at one time, if such exists. We start out pretty well with that first picking, but digging around lookin' for peas, we usually disturb the tendrils holding the vine to the fence and by about the 5th picking, half of them have quit even trying to hold onto the fence. Might be that they're too thick.
So whatcha think? I know it sounds like we haven't a clue. But honestly, it gets a little better every year we try. But we haven't "arrived". LOL!! And I suspect others have methods that they like that work well for them. Figured maybe someone might be willin' to share their secrets.
I've grown short varieties that you don't stake, just let them run on the ground. I've grown a couple of varieties that get somewhere between 3' and 4' tall. We grew Lincoln peas this year, which are around 3.5', I think. We do like the flavor.
The thing I'm wondering about, though, is how to plant them to economize on the picking of them. This year, we planted a double row (maybe 8" or so apart) with a 4' chicken wire fence in between them. My dear wife laid down the seed and she made them pretty thick. They produced well, but... they're thick enough that they're a pain to pick and they're easy to miss when they're up close to the fence.
So I figured maybe I'd ask you all whether you have an idea of a better way to plant so that they're easy to pick. That's the bottleneck. Same method but thinner? Single rows but more like a cattle panel type fence (bigger openings)? Taller variety on a taller fence? Or somethin' else?
Generally, we do get 5 or so pickings off of them. I suspect that commercially, they'd rather grow something they can pick once, pick them all, and be done with them. I have never grown a variety that ripens all its peas at one time, if such exists. We start out pretty well with that first picking, but digging around lookin' for peas, we usually disturb the tendrils holding the vine to the fence and by about the 5th picking, half of them have quit even trying to hold onto the fence. Might be that they're too thick.
So whatcha think? I know it sounds like we haven't a clue. But honestly, it gets a little better every year we try. But we haven't "arrived". LOL!! And I suspect others have methods that they like that work well for them. Figured maybe someone might be willin' to share their secrets.