“Champion of England” Tall Pea

Rescued and re-introduced by us in 2010, here’s your chance to grow a UK heirloom that had been commercially extinct for years.

A really good, traditional tall pea to 8 – 10 ft, dating from the 1840’s. But it was unavailable, other than seedbanks, for a long time. A few people had sent us small samples of old seed from time to time, but we couldn’t get them to grow. All that changed though when Robert Woodbridge got in touch with family-saved seed from Lincolnshire in the 1940’s:

I am going to send you some seeds of a Pea called Champion of England, my grandmother grew it in her very large garden in the village of Pickworth Lincs, I promised that I would always grow it and keep it going. She got the seed from the head gardener at a big country house during the war where my grandfather worked as a carpenter repairing wooden greenhouses and cold frames.

It grew really well, and more importantly, was true to the old descriptions. It was fantastic – the only reason tall peas have been abandoned commercially is that you can’t harvest them with machines. But for home gardeners, they give a great return for a small space.

An amazing find- the genuine tall strain, well maintained over the years, and we even know the location it came from. Robert’s grandmother would have been pleased to know her seeds have saved this variety for gardeners everywhere.

Practically extinct until we rescued it. As it is (like all our seeds) real seed – not a hybrid – you can of course keep your own seed for resowing.