Pea 'Petit Provençal'

The dwarf petit pois that crops early, stays compact, and mostly minds its own business.

There's sweet, and then there's just-picked-petit-pois sweet — the kind you eat standing over the pot before they ever reach a plate. 'Petit Provençal' is a classic early dwarf petit pois: small, green, tender peas that are honestly a world away from anything in a freezer bag. Split one open, eat it raw, and you'll get it.

Because it's a dwarf, bushy type it stays compact, around 40–50cm tall, which makes it a brilliant one for pots, tubs and small spaces. Sow it indoors over winter (November to February) for an early crop around May, or in spring for a later one. Fancy something more like mangetout? Pick the pods young and flat, before the peas swell, and eat them whole.

Peas are one of the kindest crops to start with. They germinate fast, they don't ask for much, and the more you pick, the more they give. No garden required — a deep pot by the back door will do the job.

What's in your kit

• 'Petit Provençal' pea seeds
• Seaweed meal — a gentle, slow all-rounder to get roots moving
• Wool pellets — hold moisture and keep the slugs honest
• Comfrey pellets — potassium-rich, for plump, well-filled pods
• A plain-English grow guide card, from sowing to harvest

What's not in your kit (on purpose)
No plastic planter and no bag of compost. You bring your own peat-free compost and an up-cycled container — a bucket, a tub, an old crate with drainage holes drilled in the bottom. Less to post, less to bin, less to cost the earth.

The grower's bit

• Sow: indoors in deep pots or root trainers, Nov–Feb for an early crop (~May), or early spring for a later one. Or sow direct outdoors Mar–Jun. Scotland runs 2–3 weeks behind the packet — nudge those outdoor dates later.
• Depth: 4–5cm
• Warmth: 13–18°C to get going
• Germination: 7–10 days (earlier if you soak them overnight before planting)
• Spacing: direct-sow 2–5cm apart
• First flowers: from around 40 days; first peas: around 55 days, once the soil has warmed
• Support: none needed — this dwarf, bushy type mostly holds itself up. A few twiggy pea sticks keep it tidy in an exposed or windy spot (worth it in Scotland), but it'll manage without.
• Harvest: pick regularly once the pods start to swell — the more you pick, the longer it keeps cropping. Or pick young and flat to use like a snow pea.

Every kit funds living wage jobs and horticultural training in Ayrshire. That's the whole point.

Shipped plastic-free to mainland GB.

Gardening, minus the gatekeeping.