THE NATURAL FORAGER’S GARDEN
A song thrush starts the dawn chorus, the drumming of a woodpecker echoes from the copse and spring is just around the corner. As the growing season swings into action, I’ve already sown broad beans, salad leaves, parsley, beetroot and chard in a cold frame, with peas next on the list. You might ask ‘why bother? to grow shelling peas when they are easy and nutritious to buy frozen. Peas are beautiful plants, delicious eaten raw straight from the pod and the many different cultivars vary in taste and texture. Shelling a colander of peas is a perfect antidote to life in the fast lane.
Recently on Gardeners’ Question Time, I was on the panel when the topic of hot beds cropped up. I know the theory of these heat-releasing beds but have never tried them and was frustratingly short of anecdotes. So now I have three good reasons to experiment; curiosity, I am currently without a greenhouse for early starts and my horse, Raffie is bedded on straw, generating plenty of fresh manure.
Gardeners often grow the golden hop Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’ but have you ever thought of growing cultivars of hops used in beer brewing? We have a room in our out-building known as ‘The Brewery’ where our son Eric makes sodas, wines and beers flavoured with home-grown hops. Now is a good time to plant these attractive, aromatic climbers whether for brewing or not.
Perfect peas
Peas enjoy a sunny spot, on good, welldrained soil and above all, flourish best in cool growing conditions. I sow ours from February to May, which also avoids opening pods to find ‘maggoty peas’. Pea moths hatch and lay their eggs in June or July, so peas blooming before or after these months will be safe from their larvae. Early sowings when soils are still cold and wet are best made under cover and over the years I’ve tried seed trays, recycled veg punnets with drainage holes and modules. As long as pea seeds are spaced 5cm (2in) apart and they are planted out before becoming root bound, they seem to thrive whether given their own little growing cell, or gently pulled apart from neighbouring seedlings. Under glass in East Devon germination requires no extra heat but I do lid them at night to protect from rodents.
Once soil has warmed up, make outdoor sowings. I usually set a line down the bed, take out flat drills on either side using a draw hoe and set seeds 8cm (3in) apart before covering with soil. When bright shoots break through the surface, push pea sticks along the rows so the peas can cling and climb; ‘Half Pint’ i
