Episode 651: Pea Planting, Beetroot Basics & A Year on the Waterway – Early Spring in the Garden

Episode 651: Pea Planting, Beetroot Basics & A Year on the Waterway – Early Spring in the Garden

From The Veg Grower Podcast by Richard

March 30, 2026 · 25 min

About this episode

Richard discusses early spring gardening tasks, focusing on pea planting and beetroot varieties.

This Week in the Kitchen Garden Richard opens this week’s episode by describing that classic early‑spring rush — the moment when the light improves, the soil warms and suddenly everything seems to need doing at once. As he puts it, “everything at the moment seems to be growing at double speed” . He talks about how the overwintered peas under cloches have suddenly surged, even showing their first flowers. With flowers come tendrils, so he’s been adding pea sticks to keep them upright and protected from the wind. Indoors and outdoors, he’s been sowing even more peas to keep the harvests rolling. Back in the potting shed, Richard explains that the seedlings — tomatoes, chilies, aubergines, celery — are growing so fast that some “seem to suddenly outgrow their pots overnight” . Space is tight, so the cold frames are now full, helping to harden off young plants while still shielding them from chilly nights. Seed of the Month: Beetroot Richard’s seed of the month for April is beetroot, with Boltardy taking the lead thanks to its reliability and resistance to bolting. Although beetroot traditionally prefers direct sowing, he admits he gets great results starting them in plug trays…

People in this episode

Host: Richard

Topics covered

  • pea planting
  • beetroot basics
  • early spring gardening
  • seedlings care
  • kitchen garden

Keywords

  • peas
  • beetroot
  • seedlings
  • kitchen garden
  • early spring

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Boltardy, Chioggia, Burpees Golden, rainbow mixes

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