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~ Seed for PEAS ~ One of you wrote across your order 'GARDENERS NEED PEAS!!!' a few years ago. We couldn't agree more, and now we're definitely getting there, after our latest trials. We have become interested in the possibilities of old-fashioned smooth-seeded peas, as well as the wrinkle-seeded varieties now more commonly grown . Smooth ones do go starchy more quickly once the pods get big, and so have to be picked young & small for a good sweet flavour. But they have a big advantage too - they are much less likely to rot in cold wet soil, so you can risk a much earlier sowing. We now like to sow smooth-seeded pea varieties for our early crops, and then wrinkle-seeded ones for the maincrop once the soil has warmed up. Here are some of both kinds for you to try, listed in order of cropping. Dwarf Pea Seed Hatif d'Annonay An improved early pea from France - the name means 'Early Pea from Annonay'. It does what it says! The small bushes really don't seem to need any support and do very quickly load up with lots of nice dark green pods. Smooth seeds, so can be sown pretty early, but must pick small for sweetness. Ideal for a first-early sowing. Order PeHA - 240 seed £1.55 Climbing Pea Seed Amelioree d'Auvergne The name translates as "Auvergne Improved" and this is a good early or maincrop pea. Slightly earlier than than the Serpette Guilloteau below (by a week or so) and with shorter, fatter pods. It climbs well but not quite so high, to about 1.3m. Smooth seeds, can be sown early, but pick small for sweetness. Fast growing, high yielding. Order PeAA - 250 seed £1.55 Serpette Guilloteau A traditional climbing pea from France, to 1.5 m high, with curved pods filled with nice fat peas. As far as we have been able to trace it, the name is derived from an old French word for a type of pruning knife blade, reflecting the sickle-shape of the pods! Classed as 'semi - early' this makes a good second-early or maincrop pea, with particularly high yields in both cases. Smooth seeds, can be sown early, but pick small for sweetness. Fast growing, curved pods, slightly flattened sweet peas. Order PeSG - 250 seed £1.55 Telephone Now this is a well known variety that has stood the test of time. A tall vine that produces mid-season, here we recommend it as an early-maincrop pea. For us it grows to a good five feet tall, though others have written in to say that it gets taller for them. Although various sub-strains have been developed over the years, its hasn't really changed from the description of 'Carter's Telephone Pea' in Vilmorin's famous book of 1885 on vegetable gardening. It has heavy yields of large pods with sweet, non-starchy peas inside. We find that the pods always swell up a bit before the peas fill out, so don't be fooled into picking too early! This year they were ready to eat starting in mid-July, on over the summer, which is pretty good given what a cold year it has been. Wrinkled seed, stays sweet longer in pods - but don't sow in cold wet conditions. Medium tall vine, use as maincrop. Order PeTE - 240 seed £1.59 (And yes, to those that are wondering about the dating on this, we wondered too if this was quite right, but we checked, and the word 'telephon' (without the e) was in use by 1854 and the first patent was in 1876 by Bell, although his work was preceded by several other people. The real question is, of course, why should Carter want to call his pea after an effect first noticed when people were given electro-shock therapy in 1846? (their screams were transmitted over the wires they were holding). . . . They are a very good pea nonetheless! ~ Mange-tout Pea Seed ~ 'Golden Sweet' Yellow-Podded Mange-tout pea We have grown many mange-tout peas (if you've not tried them, you eat the wide flat pods) over the years but this one has always stood out head and shoulders above the others. It is a superb mange-tout pea, with beautiful yellow pods, tall productive vines, and a delicious crisp flavour. The flowers are purple, & the pods are a wonderful lemon yellow colour, easy to see for picking, and great both raw in salads or gently steamed or stirfried as a vegetable. Last summer was perfect for pea seed production and we have enough for several hundred packets now. Get your order in quick! Order PeGO - 100 seed £1.69 Feedback? Everyone loves them! E.g. Clare Maple, via email: "We are currently growing a crop of these peas. Our neighbour, himself a traditional gardener but always open to new stuff, was interested in them. We all shared a few, fresh off the plant, and agreed that they are probably the best tasting peas we have ever had."     ~ Saving Pea Seed ~ Peas don't in general cross very easily, so you can save seed from several varieties without worry. Here is our 'Golden Sweet' harvest. But be sure that you don't plant types with similar-coloured seeds next to each other, otherwise you'll not be sure which plant they come from! The tricky bit is getting your pea plants picked when they are fairly dry - we hang ours on an indoor washing line if it's rainy! Then just stomp the peas out of their pods. More detailed seed-saving instructions are included with your seeds, so you can do all this yourself at home.