I grow only edible podded peas, no shelling peas. I find that there is too much waste with shelling peas with very little product.
This year I tried something new....in addition to regular green snow peas- I grew yellow podded snow peas!
I thought the might be easier for people to see at picking time...and they have these beautiful purple flowers.
So it's time for another tutorial... and Ben agreed to show us how to pick pea pods!
Thanks, Ben!
HOW TO PICK PEA PODS
1. Look through the foliage to find the pea pods....they hide behind leaves and can be really hard to find, so sometimes you need to squat down to look carefully.
2. Select a ripe pea pod to pick. A ripe snap pea is long and plump like this....
...not skinny like this...
A ripe Snow Pea is long too, but it is flat with plump little peas inside....
3. DO NOT grab the pea pod with one hand and yank it off the plant like this...
If you pick a pea pod with one hand you might pull the plant right out of the ground! Instead, grab the plant with one hand and pull the pea pod off with the other...
4. Rinse the pea pods and snap the tops off with your fingers. They should come off easily, but if the pea pods is overly mature and the cap has a string attached, then carefully pull the string off and throw it away. Stringy pea pods are hard to chew!
Once pea plants start producing pea pods they really kick it into high gear and we end up with more pea pods than we can handle. But they don't last all season, so come on out and get them while you can!
Ben did great for his guest appearance! Those yellow peas are beautiful! I've never even heard of them. Our peas are done for now, which is sad because Christian just LOVED them.
ReplyDeleteI like to try different things, but usually they don't turn out very well....but these yellow pea pods are a hit! They are SO easy to see, and they are tender and delicious. I have also seen purple pea pods, so this inspires me to try them too! What would happen if you planted another crop of peapods? Do you think they would grow, or do you think it is too hot?
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