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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 16, 2010 18:42:22 GMT -5
SPANISH Skyscraper? Spanish as in originating in Spain? If yes, I sure would love to get some of those seed if you have any after the harvest!!!
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Apr 16, 2010 22:22:59 GMT -5
ACtually Jo, they were developed in Canada. I attended a series of seminars by the man who developed them. But he has Parkinson's Disease and has taken all the information off his website about the vegetables that he was responsible for. I was hoping to get a bit of background on them, but so far, I have not been able to find anything about the varieties that Ken would have used to create the S.S. I have his book on Sweet Potatoes. I don't suppose there is anything in that about his other ventures, but one never knows until one reads within the cover  If I find that it had it's beginnings from a variety originating in Spain, I will let you know and gladly send you some.  |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 17, 2010 3:29:23 GMT -5
Sad to hear about this gentleman's illness. I'm sorry. I hear you about reading the books... I have a few like that myself. ;o) What are these peas like in terms of flavor? I like the tiny sweet flavored green peas. If I really get good results this year, I'll be looking for more varieties and I think I might like to put this on my list of desirable.
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Post by mortality on Apr 18, 2010 4:25:05 GMT -5
Purple Podded - Desiree and Golden Sweet, now planted outside. (Sown indoors to avoid making the mice menu) I can't believe the size difference, they were planted on the same day (you can tell i'm a novice gardener, the little things that excite me)  The difference is amazing. Is that Purple Podded from the Heritage seed Library? If so, they will not get anywhere near as tall as Golden Sweet, although still a tall pea (5ft here). I bought them both from www.plantsofdistinction.co.uk/acatalog/A-Z_of_Vegetables_PEA.htmland had brilliant germination with only one seed that failed. Next year I think I might get as many purple podded as I can for comparison. This year, I will grow and observe them. I might try and cross them, but since I have never cross bred any plant, I will have to be very sure of what i'm doing. Need to re read all the pea genetics stuff, dominant n recessive etc. |
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Post by galina on Apr 26, 2010 9:40:35 GMT -5
Mortality
thanks for the information. It gets a bit tricky with so many peas being called purple podded. Thank you for clarifying. They call them PP Desiree and say they only get to 40 inches. Now I understand your comment Rebsie about Desiree :-). Different cultivar from the 'Purple podded' from HSL but as these are shortish peas it stands to reason that the differences were so pronounced even as little seedlings.
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Post by galina on Apr 26, 2010 9:45:36 GMT -5
First pea flower today! A white one. Strangely not on any of the really early varieties, but on pea Laxton's Exquisite.
Sorry I just had to share with you. :-)
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Post by robertb on Apr 29, 2010 4:50:20 GMT -5
When did you plant it?
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Post by galina on Apr 30, 2010 17:09:48 GMT -5
Sowed indoors (windowsill) 10 Feb put into frostfree conservatory as soon as they had germinated, hardened off in the greenhouse for a week, planted out 20 March.
Today there are a handful of flowers, joined by Vroege Veense Capucijn and Langedijker Bleekbloei, whose purple flowers are the usual first early candidates.
What really surprised me was how low down on the Laxton's Exquisite plants the flowers started. After all this is a 4ft tall pea, but the lowest flowers appeared near the ground. Tried to pull the plants straight to see exactly how far off the ground, but their tendrils are firmly wrapped around the peasticks and won't allow that.
I haven't grown this variety for a few years and not made notes on its earliness last time. What are yours doing, Robert?
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Post by Rebsie on May 1, 2010 6:30:44 GMT -5
It gets a bit tricky with so many peas being called purple podded. Thank you for clarifying. They call them PP Desiree and say they only get to 40 inches. Now I understand your comment Rebsie about Desiree :-). Different cultivar from the 'Purple podded' from HSL but as these are shortish peas it stands to reason that the differences were so pronounced even as little seedlings. That's exactly the trouble, a lot of catalogues list peas called Purple Podded but they are all different. I did a trial a few years ago where I collected as many purple podded peas as I could get hold of, many of which were simply called "Purple Podded" and they were ALL different cultivars. In some cases the differences were subtle, but there were no duplicates. The HSL lists a number of purple podded varieties, all with subtle differences. Desiree is quite distinctly different from the others I've grown. As well as being shorter, it produces wide chunky pods in pairs which are an unusually deep dark purple colour and extremely leathery. The flowers are beautiful. |
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Post by robertb on May 1, 2010 17:36:46 GMT -5
Mine are growing away merrily, and there's been no problem with pigeons. I've got seven varieties out in the open ground so far. I'll be doing more over the weekend.
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Post by michaeljohnson on May 1, 2010 23:52:24 GMT -5
If it is just ordinary peas that you want, you cant beat the variety (Meteor) semi dwarf, utterly reliable with buckets of fresh green peas-year after year in any type of soil, probably the most reliable cropper there is bar none, they will germinate and produce 100% when other varieties and types fail in the same soil, the pods are hard and totally full of fat peas.
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Post by robertb on May 2, 2010 12:57:54 GMT -5
Only problem is, it's a short variety, and crops less heavily than the tall peas. Have you tried Alderman or Magnum Bonum?
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If I find that it had it's beginnings from a variety originating in Spain, I will let you know and gladly send you some. 
