Mangetout

Last year we grew some Carouby de Maussane, mangetout peas. We were disappointed in that the plants that are supposed to grow to five feet just didn't seem to grow at all and the pods were disfigured. We decided that the dry conditions last year, (and we thought that was bad!), were hardly a good trial of any pea variety and so decided to give it another chance this year.

This year the peas have been slow to get going but have now almost reached the expected five feet and have started to crop. Note the rain drops!

In April the  first lots of seeds were sown in pots and then planted out as small plants. There was a point when we thought the plants weren't growing too well and so I sowed an outer ring of seeds directly in the ground forming an outer ring which you may be able to make out from the photo below.

Then - wouldn't you just know it - of course the earlier plants took off. Maybe the later sown plants will rear up to take over once the first lot are over. If so I think I may have invented a new growing technique!

Must admit I was attracted to the variety by the description in the seed catalogue "Tall growing mangetout variety with attractive purple flowers. Large pods up to 11cm long. Good sweet flavour. Height 150cm."

I have to say though so far I'm a bit disappointed by the flowers.

Although individually they are pretty they don't give the dramatic display that I probably unreasonably expected.

I say unreasonably as I know pea flowers don't tend to open fully.

There is a sort of flare of purplish red around the area where the leaves join the stems which adds a little more colour to the plant but ... they are nothing like this.

But then again sweet peas don't produce anything edible so I guess honours are pretty even.