How to harvest and grow Pea plants, mangetout and snap peas

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Growing Peas
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Harvesting Peas

Garden peas are best when slightly immature - when fully mature they become hard and loose the sweet taste. Harvesting them early also encourages them to produce more. As a guide, peas are normally ready for harvest three weeks after flowering. Peas quickly loose their flavour after harvesting, so pick them just before they are required for cooking.

The peas at the bottom of the plant will tend to be ready first, so begin harvesting here, working up as time progresses. When the plant stops producing peas, cut the top of the plant off and leave the roots in the ground to compost for next year.

Varieties
GardenAction recommends the following varieties (click here to review the various types):

Type	Variety	Comment
First Early	Kelvedon Wonder	Height 60cm (2ft), can also be used in place of maincrop variety. Vigorous and reliable cropper - RHS Award
Second early	Hurst Green Shaft	Height 75cm (2.5ft), great taste, good disease resistance. Click on the left for a picture.
Maincrop	Onward	Height 90cm (3ft), very prolific.
Mangetout	Delikett	Height 90cm (3ft), delicious, RHS Award

Pest and Disease of Peas
Mice will often eat the seeds quicker than you can sow them - if they live in your garden, there is no real cure. Some gardeners coat the seeds in paraffin, others buy a cat!

Greenfly and Blackfly - click to the left for more details on how to identify and treat these pests of peas.

The other main problems are Pea Moth, Pea Weevil or Pea Thrip. Click the link for much more detailed information on the Pea Moth.

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