F&F member Sarah Passey is reviewing products from Victoriana Nurseries. Here’s what she thinks so far.
According to my children, there is only one way to pod peas: the “snap and pop” method. This technique entails much hilarity, peas on the floor, and munching of “practice peas”. My preferred method is the banana-peeling technique, pinching the top and “unzipping” the pod, then prizing apart the sides to reveal the goodies inside. This method procures more peas without any need to eat ones that fall to the floor.
Of course, there must be a competition to see who gets the most peas per pod. My son counted between six and eight in most of his pods; my daughter kept eating hers, so we’ll never know who won. All I know, the pods were well stocked, with no diseased peas, mould, or hidden bugs. And we had enough for dinner (just!).
2 months ago, I sowed two rows of Douce Provence pea seeds, kindly supplied by Victoriana Nursery. This variety of pea is hardy, reliable, and produces heavy crops. Now, I’m pretty rubbish at growing vegetables. I forget to water, I don’t feed enough or provide support or pinch out tips… Fortunately, this dwarf variety doesn’t need support. To show how hardy they are, I sowed four rows at our allotment that are almost in flower despite the local pigeons pinching the tips out for me; I have just sowed another two rows since I’m doing so well with these! Douce Provence can be overwintered, so I’ll continue to sow throughout autumn to see if we can have fresh peas for Christmas.
Anyone visiting the Victoriana site straight from Fennel & Fern will get an automatic 10% discount on their order when they check out.
10% off at Victoriana Nurseries
Anyone visiting Victoriana from F&F will automatically get a discount on their order. Click the link above.
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