It's amazing to think about how far I've come since I first planted the peas. I didn't know the difference between pole and bush varieties then. Pole varieties get rather tall and must be supported by poles, as their name suggests. They take longer to produce peas because they spend so much time just to reach their full height. In our case, the peas were expected to reach over 6 feet tall and they did. We measured and graphed their growth and they reliably grew about an inch a day until they reached their full height. Only then they began to flower and, later, produce peas. The peas develop a few at a time. As you pick the ripe ones, new ones form. The upside to this is that you get peas over a long period of time. The downside is that you don't get many peas at once unless you planted an awful lot of plants. Bush varieties produce peas quicker, and they produce the peas all at once.As you might notice from the pictures, I did a silly thing by going cheap on the poles. At first it was hard to believe the plants would actually reach 6 feet or more. I put a few branches in the ground and hoped that would take care of things for a while. When the sticks were too short, I began tying the peas to the fence. Then I purchased 1 set of 10 bamboo poles (6 feet tall). Except I probably have about 50 plants. The peas were far too heavy for the poles, which are all leaning over, weighed down by peas. I've got a big tangle of peas in several spots, and while trying to untangle them and help them each find supports, I bent several plants. Not to be deterred, one of the bent plants actually continued growing til it reached the ground, latched onto a cabbage plant, and then started growing up again. In another part of the yard, the pea plants took over the lemon tree. Next time I grow peas, I'll invest in a trellis. Or several.
It's amazing to think about how far I've come since I first planted the peas. I didn't know the difference between pole and bush varieties then. Pole varieties get rather tall and must be supported by poles, as their name suggests. They take longer to produce peas because they spend so much time just to reach their full height. In our case, the peas were expected to reach over 6 feet tall and they did. We measured and graphed their growth and they reliably grew about an inch a day until they reached their full height. Only then they began to flower and, later, produce peas. The peas develop a few at a time. As you pick the ripe ones, new ones form. The upside to this is that you get peas over a long period of time. The downside is that you don't get many peas at once unless you planted an awful lot of plants. Bush varieties produce peas quicker, and they produce the peas all at once.
As you might notice from the pictures, I did a silly thing by going cheap on the poles. At first it was hard to believe the plants would actually reach 6 feet or more. I put a few branches in the ground and hoped that would take care of things for a while. When the sticks were too short, I began tying the peas to the fence. Then I purchased 1 set of 10 bamboo poles (6 feet tall). Except I probably have about 50 plants. The peas were far too heavy for the poles, which are all leaning over, weighed down by peas. I've got a big tangle of peas in several spots, and while trying to untangle them and help them each find supports, I bent several plants. Not to be deterred, one of the bent plants actually continued growing til it reached the ground, latched onto a cabbage plant, and then started growing up again. In another part of the yard, the pea plants took over the lemon tree. Next time I grow peas, I'll invest in a trellis. Or several.
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And with your mild climate if you make sure you do your winter crop starting in the fall so they get a good start, you'll be picking out of your garden all year long. The only difference will be the variety of your harves.
On the tomato plants, they can be very vigorous. When Harold lived in LA county he had a tomato plant that grew all the way up and over his house. Thing produced fruit all year long. Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.
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