Sow peas now for an early harvest, but beware mice, slugs and birds

Peas are a cool-weather crop, so are ideal for this approach, but not all varieties lend themselves to sowing in autumn. Those with a wrinkled seed coat have many nooks where water can gather, which means they’re vulnerable to rotting before they germinate.

So the varieties that boast a smooth seed coat — such as ‘Douce Provence’, ‘Meteor’ and ‘First Early May’ — are most suitable.

While I’ve always found the peas I’ve sown directly into the ground (or a container) have produced the sturdiest plants, they can be bothered by various hungry creatures, so I’m planning to sow into seed trays and then plant out once they’re mature enough to face the outdoors. This way I can attempt to protect them from mice (which love to dig up and eat the seeds before they germinate) and slugs (which feast on their young leaves).

“Consider throwing some fleece or mesh over pea plants if very cold weather — snow especially – is forecast.

Once they’re in the ground, I’ll cover the young plants with netting, fixed in place with gardening pegs, to protect them from garden birds. Consider throwing some fleece or mesh over pea plants if very cold weather — snow especially — is forecast, but make sure to pull any covers back as soon as it’s mild enough as they can be susceptible to mildew.

They’ll need support structures for their tendrils to twirl around as they grow and — depending on how big your plants become before the short days put their growth on pause — you may need to put some in place this side of the new year. Fortunately, winter is the time for many of our woody shrubs and trees to be pruned, providing an excess of twiggy branches that are perfect for the job. Pea netting is designed for the purpose but looks less charming, in my opinion.

If you’re not patient enough to nurse pea seedlings through winter, growing pea shoots is simple and straightforward, and can be done all year round. I sow pea seeds into recycled punnets filled with spent compost (as pea shoots are harvested before they need nutrients) and keep them well watered on a sunny windowsill.

Once they’ve developed a couple of sets of true leaves, they’re ready to be picked and will brighten up mid-winter meals with their bright pea-y flavour.

Peat-free tips

Nick Hamilton, the son of the late gardening legend Geoff Hamilton, has for years used peat-free, organic techniques at Barnsdale Gardens in Rutland, which was originally made famous by his father who presented the BBC series Gardeners' World there from 1979 until his death in 1996.

• When it comes to sowing and potting vegetables, using the right compost is key, he says. Buy seed/cuttings compost for seed sowing, and potting compost for potting on.

"Adding soil or garden compost to the mix might be worth a try, certainly when potting more long-term. I have used a 50:50 mix of peat-free compost and composted leaf mould for sowing and that worked really well."

Leaf mould usually has an excellent level of trace elements, so will be feeding your seedlings and plants with nutrients that may be missing from the additional feeds you apply.

When potting semi-permanent or permanent plants into containers, adding soil or homemade compost/leaf mould to the mix will give the compost more body and a better long-term rooting medium for plants. Even with the right peat-free compost, supplementary feeding may be necessary depending on how long your plants are in the compost.

Yellowing leaves are a sure sign that your plants need a little extra boost. Nick recommends home-made nettle feed or seaweed feed for supplementing any nitrogen deficiencies.

• Boost peat-free multi-purpose compost: Be aware that fertiliser levels can be low (with peat-free multi-purpose compost) as it is used for seed sowing as well as potting.

"At Barnsdale, we add pelleted chicken manure when potting on seedlings and a higher rate for veggies like tomatoes, peppers and aubergines. Chicken manure is great for plants as it is so rich in organic nutrients. It's an excellent source of nitrogen, which is one of the most important nutrients needed for healthy leaf growth in all plants."

• Watch your watering: if you are using peat-free compost, your watering regime may be different. Different peat-free composts hold water differently. Similarly, some mixes of peat-based composts are quite free-draining. So, it's important to take note and learn as you go along.

"During dry spells, when you find yourself watering a lot, you'll be washing away nutrients from the compost. My suggestion when asked how often to water is, if in doubt, do not water. If a plant wilts from under-water, then water it within an hour, and it will be back looking great. If it wilts from over-watering then the likelihood is that the roots have died, due to waterlogging, and the plant will more than likely not recover."

• Use fertiliser: "Boost your plants and compost with organic fertiliser. Mixing in organic fertiliser can help prevent nutrient loss when you need to water heavily in drier spells.

"Peat-free compost will consist of materials that are still rotting down, such as woody material, which makes for a good open compost. However, because of this, the compost and the plants are both using up nitrogen, so it is important to top up the nutrients as required."

Try using foliar feed if foliage is starting to yellow, he suggests. This is sprayed directly on the leaves and allows for a faster rebalancing of nutrient levels and a quicker return to normal green leaves.

— Guardian