UK gardening - Peas and seed saving

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Peas and seed saving

Janet Tweedy

2007-03-29, 9:25 am

I wanted to try "Ne plus ultra" and Alderman this year. Both very old
varieties.
How far apart would I need to grow them to ensure that if I saved the
seed for next year it wouldn't be a 'mix'?
Or is it not possible at all?

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Stewart Robert Hinsley

2007-03-29, 9:25 am

In message <zAp8A6FwJ6CGFw14@ukonline.co.uk>, Janet Tweedy
<jan@lancedal.demon.co.uk> writes
>I wanted to try "Ne plus ultra" and Alderman this year. Both very old
>varieties.
>How far apart would I need to grow them to ensure that if I saved the
>seed for next year it wouldn't be a 'mix'?
>Or is it not possible at all?
>
>Janet

Peas (Pisum sativum) routinely self-fertilise, so the expectation would
be that the majority of saved seed would come true. Hpwever I can't tell
you to what degree cross-fertilisation also occurs.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Gary Woods

2007-03-29, 9:25 am

Janet Tweedy <jan@lancedal.demon.co.uk> wrote:

>How far apart would I need to grow them to ensure that if I saved the
>seed for next year it wouldn't be a 'mix'?

According to Suzanne Ashworth's "Seed to Seed:"

Garden peas have perfect flowers, and are mostly pollinated before the
flowers open. Having said that, the commercial standard for isolation is
100 meters, and if there is little other pasture for honeybees, they will
visit pea blossoms, increasing the chance of crossing.

Looks like unless you're going commercial, whatever spacing you can manage
would work. If you're really a purist, which I'm not, you could tent the
part of the row you want seeds from with Remay or whatever the floating row
cover stuff is called across the pond.

I've saved Sugar Snap pea seed from a row adjacent to Oregon Giant snowpeas
with no visible crossing, and that certainly would be evident the next
season.

Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

Gill Matthews

2007-03-29, 5:25 pm

In article <zAp8A6FwJ6CGFw14@ukonline.co.uk>, jan@lancedal.demon.co.uk says...
> I wanted to try "Ne plus ultra" and Alderman this year. Both very old
> varieties.
> How far apart would I need to grow them to ensure that if I saved the
> seed for next year it wouldn't be a 'mix'?
> Or is it not possible at all?
>
> Janet
>
20 meters is the recognised comercial separatin distance for peas

Gill M

Bob Hobden

2007-03-29, 5:25 pm

"Janet Tweedy" wrote ...
>I wanted to try "Ne plus ultra" and Alderman this year. Both very old
>varieties.
> How far apart would I need to grow them to ensure that if I saved the seed
> for next year it wouldn't be a 'mix'?
> Or is it not possible at all?
>
I hope you have better luck than we had with those varieties, we eventually
gave up planting them as the hot dry summers stopped them growing and they
failed to provide peas in any quantity. We only grow early peas now that are
finished before the heat of summer.

--
Regards
Bob H
17mls W. of London.UK

Janet Tweedy

2007-03-30, 5:25 pm

In article <572r1dF27q7vjU1@mid.individual.net>, Bob Hobden
<bobh@invalid.com> writes

>I hope you have better luck than we had with those varieties, we eventually
>gave up planting them as the hot dry summers stopped them growing and they
>failed to provide peas in any quantity. We only grow early peas now that are
>finished before the heat of summer.
>

Strangely enough the gardener who recommended these two varieties had
much more luck with them last year than other types she sowed! They
didn't seem to suffer much she said.

janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

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