Perfect Pea Supports

I planted my first double row of peas back on the 26th of February and since then they have been happily growing away without a care in the world. The variety that I am growing is called Douce Provence and they grow to about 3 ft in height, they are meant to beable to support each other without the need of canes etc. However, they looked extremely messy sprawled over the floor so I decided to make them some supports, that way it would look tidier and the crop would be so much more easier to harvest when the time comes. Now in my last post I had the dilemma of choosing some plant supports but in the end I decided to make my own. My Dad came up with a genius way of using wooden stakes and bamboo to create a frame for the peas to climb up, it would also look great, do the job and also be cheap! So off we went to B&Q and what did we happen to find in the bargain bin? Only 3 bundles each containing 8 x 5ft wooden treated timber, just what we needed! It didn’t take long for my Dad to saw a point on one end of the stakes and drill holes down them, then it was a quick trip up the allotment to put them up.

Doesn’t it look great? I am so happy with the final result, it looks wild and rustic and very handmade but I love it! And the best thing about it is that I can use the bamboos for other supports later on and it can all be stored away in my shed without taking up too much room.

We used three stakes per double row of peas, the 2 end stakes have 3 holes drilled in them and the middle row has 6 holes to allow for the bamboo cross over (we couldnt find 3 metre lengths of bamboo!) It was a simple matter of hammering the stakes into the ground, slotting the bamboo through the holes and then using twine to zig-zag up and down the support. I was originally going to use net but came to the conclusion that twine would be a lot easier and look nicer, and also because its bio-degradable once the pea season is at an end I can simply gather all the twine and plant up and put it on the compost heap!

Feel free to watch my latest video where I am putting up the pea support in more detail!