Harvesting peas????

[Homesteadmom]

Not 100% sure where to post gardening threads, so if it needs to be moved that is fine.

I have never grown peas before & my vines have pods on them. So my question is when do you know they are ready to harvest? And do I just pry open the pod to "shell them", then wash & freeze or can n jars, right? So far they are growing well & putting on quite a few pods. And my green beans are doing well too. But I do need to get dh in gear & build the greenhouse frames to put over my plants to protect them as the nights are getting cooler now(finally!!!! ) My tomato plant is full of blossoms too! I was hoping I could serve fresh tomatoes on Thanksgiving but I don't think that is going to happen


Thanks!

 

[patandchickens]

So these are regular shelling peas, are they? (I am just having trouble grasping the idea of peas just coming into pod, as we've already made our first snowman of the year a couple weeks ago ) You want to pick them when the peas are just swelling, have not quite reached their maximum size yet or have only just reached it this morning (it is better to pick too early than too late, taste-wise). Open a few pods and see -- you will quickly get a sense of how the appearance and feel of the outside of the pod relates to what's inside it.

Unless you have a kajillion pounds of peas (and lots of time to shell them) honestly I think they're better just eaten now than trying to save them. Saute gently in a pan with lotsa butter until cooked, tasting frequently (not so much to tell when they're ready as because they are just fun to eat out of the pan that way <g>). Not many things in life beat truly fresh at-their-peak peas. For saving, freezing preserves their quality better than canning in my personal opinion.

If they're snap or snow peas then you would obviously pick them earlier.

Have fun, I am totally jealous ,

Pat

 

[Homesteadmom]

That is one advantage to living in the desert. You can garden about 10 mos out of the yr. But I can't grow greenbeans or peas any other time of the yr as it is too hot then. Yes they are regular shelling peas. I don't eat them(allergic) but dh & ds#2 do, dd does in things too. I figure the more food I can grow for ourselves the better off we are. So freezing it will be then I can just open the bag & pour out what I need for stir fries & fried rice when I need them that way & what the "guys will eat when I fix them. Plus dh likes to take them in his lunches too.
Next fall I will plant them a little earlier & more of them as this yr was a experiment. I was more set on my green beans as we all like them, but decided to try peas too this yr. Dh is happy!
I wish we could build snowmen around here, but we get no snow!