Peas advice

Janey3

I haven't grown peas before now so first year growing them. They are all flowering and producing pods, some getting quite long, but the peas inside are teeny. Will the peas inside get bigger in the next couple of weeks or should I pick them now as they are? The make of pea is Rondo, and the peas look big on the picture of the seed packet. Any advice gratefully received!

kimmee

Janey3 wrote: »

I haven't grown peas before now so first year growing them. They are all flowering and producing pods, some getting quite long, but the peas inside are teeny. Will the peas inside get bigger in the next couple of weeks or should I pick them now as they are? The make of pea is Rondo, and the peas look big on the picture of the seed packet. Any advice gratefully received!

I'm growing peas for the first time too, and I thought that one of my pods looked well 'fattened' but when I opened it the peas were still quite small (although they tasted fab cos I had to taste them didn't I?!!) so I'm going to leave mine to get bigger and fatter. Mine aren't the same as yours although I can't remember what strain they are but on the packet mine looked fairly large too.

If I was you I'd leave them a week or so and then open one pod and see whats what then. It's all trial and error isn't it?

System

Mine aren't ready yet either, dont worry - they will come. It's a nice tasting pea too. You learn by the squeeze how fat the peas inside are, too much give and the peas will be small. They are unlikely to all be the same stage at once, so when you try look for the fattest which may be hidden.

Rondo is a main crop pea, and although it is shorter than its parent plant (Alderman) will still take a little time to fully make itself. You can use this to your advantage as they will come after earlies such as Feltham First and so spread your cropping period out.

ps the pods are sweet & tasty to chew, you can't really eat them raw as there is a tough membrane that develops, treat them as a pea flavoured chewing gum (best done in the garden when you don't have company)

Janey3

Thank you both for your informative and helpful advice, I will leave the peas for a while.

Might try the pea flavoured chewing gum too in a small corner of the garden!!

moneymabel

Yep you know what they say-give peas a chance :-) sorry :-/

scarlet74

I'm no expert, but I think if you picked a few pods (even if they were on the small side) it would encourage more to grow - so even if you lost the few tiny ones you had, you should get many more growing back. I can never quite bring myself to do this though, and I never believe any more will grow...

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!

Lotus-eater

It can be quite difficult to estimate the size of the seeds in the pod, unless you are tuned in to the particular pea you are growing. You will, it just takes a bit of time.
What can help, you look through the pod at the sun and you can see the size of the peas better. Usually you want to get to the peas before they touch, to eat fresh and as they touch, or a bit bigger, to cook. That's how I basically do it anyway.

Orange_King

Yes, a bit of sunlight does do the trick. Mine are still very small specks in the pod but have a little patience and you'll be surprised how quickly they develop. My problem is always that only a handful are ready at any one time so there is no point in cooking such a small amount - darn shame eh??

Lotus-eater

Yeah you need to sow a long row, then as they don't last that long, another long row in 2 or 3 weeks, then another and the picking and shelling takes ages.
Growing peas in very labour intensive.

starstella

What about using them as mange tout in a stir fry.We ate the pods as well as the peas last time I grew them.Can't remember the variety though.

Bumble_Bee_4

Mange tout or sugar snap peas are much easier - quicker to crop as you don't have to wait for the peas inside to swell up.

For peas, if you haven't got enough for a proper portion, you can still cook them in a tiny amount of water and then add them to a salad.