How To Harvest Peas
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How To Harvest Peas
To get the best out of your vegetable harvest, you must pick them at the right time and in the right way for a flavoursome and bountiful crop. Tom Cole shows us how to harvest peas.
Step 1: You will need
- A small knife
Step 2: When to harvest
You should start harvesting peas in early summer, continuing to do so until they run out. New pods should continue to grow until the first frost.
The pods should be round, plump, firm to the touch, and nearing maturity. However, if you let them mature too far, they will become starchy and unpleasant.
You can pick pods earlier, when they are completely flat for a pea similar to Mange Tout.
Step 3: Harvesting
Cut the pods from the plant with a small knife. The calyx (the small star shaped leaf at the pods top) should remain intact as this slows down the ripening process, keeping them fresher for longer.
With most cultivar, the lowest pods on the plant mature earliest.
On the final harvest, simply pull up the whole plant, leaving the roots in the soil to increase nitrogen levels.
Step 4: Storage
Peas are fine for freezing but this must be done within four hours to keep the flavour. If not freezing, use immediately, as sweetness is lost very quickly, with 40% of sugars turning into starch in just a few hours.