Tips for Growing Peas Overwinter (Sept to June)

Posted on 13. Nov, 2010 by Tracey in How To Grow Veg

Thanks to Mark from the Small Holders Diary for his comment posted on my blog post ‘Sowing Smooth Round Peas in October for a Spring Harvest’ asking what are the results like of sowing overwintering Peas? I have grown peas overwinter before, two years ago I sowed Douce Provence and harvested a small crop in June, see the results in my Overwintering Peas Slideshow.

Pea Seeds

News Flash – There’s still time to Sow Overwintering Peas!
The variety Douce Provence can be grown until the end of November. Remember for best results, if the ground is wet, sow into modules and plant out in 4 weeks under cloche, more Overwintering Pea Sowing Tips here.

My first experience with growing peas overwinter was a challenging one. There are a few things that need to be considered when growing peas or any type of vegetables overwinter, they are:

Excess of water

The ground is constantly soggy, boggy and wet which means rotting can occur quicker if the plant is in contact with the ground for a few weeks. The foliage turns yellow, then brown and drops off or withers away. This could be the end of my peas before they have even started.
To combat this problem, I use twigs pruned from other shrubs or cut bamboo canes to prop up the peas. I have also seen people put netting over the soil around the plants so that the plants don’t come into direct contact with the soil.
Baby Slugs

These tend to go un-noticed as they can look like small long stones from a distance and they will live in your soil all winter if not removed. They absolutely love any colour foliage and as your peas are weak for the first few months of growth, they could be attacked with great ease.
Action – I know its cold and wet and the last thing you want to do is hunt for slugs but you only have to step outside for 10 mins at the most to check your plot, that is if you want your peas to survive. The best time to hunt for slugs is in the early morning or late afternoon (in my experience) and look under your plant leaves and in the corners of your raised bed.
Frost

Most vegetables that grow overwinter which were sown in September onwards do need protection from frost, this is because usually frost strikes in mid October and there isn’t enough time for your seedlings to have started their growing pattern by the time the frost strikes, so we need to help them along by covering them in fleece or a cloche with enviromesh or similar which has frost protection.
Frost Bitten – If you are overwintering veg has been frost bitten, see my post from last year ‘Frost Bitten Broad Beans – Symptoms and Solutions‘ which shows the affect frost has on plants, in this case my poor broad beans (although they did survive) and what other tender plants need protection.
Powdery Mildew

This is a disease which affects established pea plants, it covers the plants in white dusty patches including the pea pods. It is catching and can spread to other similar plants in the area like beans. It attacks because of dry conditions which the spores like to breed in.
Action: Regular watering can prevent this disease as can tying up the pea vines to canes to allow air flow in between the plants. There are also pea varieties that are resistant to powdery mildew.

My Overwintering Pea’s Update

Here’s the first update for this years variety ‘Hatif d’Annonay‘ from The Real Seed Catalogue and I’m hoping for a good crop of peas in the spring. As this is a dwarf bushy variety, it won’t need supporting as much and will fill up with lots of pea pods.