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The successful cultivation of the pea plant is followed by harvesting and storage. Everything you need to know about how to harvest and store peas correctly can be found here.

Pea can be preserved after harvest.

Pea plants (Pisum sativum) produce many legumes during the summer. With a few plants you can easily cover your need for peas. But how can you tell from the outside when peas are ripe and how can they be stored? We'll show you the best way to go from harvest to storage.

Harvesting the peas: the right time

While most vegetables are just beginning to grow, many peas are already ripe and waiting to be harvested. It is generally worth planting peas at different times, as well as different varieties, so that you can gradually harvest in the summer. The following applies to the ripening of peas: Green peas (Pisum sativum L. convar. Sativum) can be harvested from the end of May, wrinkled peas ( Pisum sativum L. convar.medullary alef.) and sweet peas (Pisum sativum L. convar.axiphium Alef.) are ready from June.

Once the pea pod is filled, it can be harvested.

However, the appearance of the pods is more important than the exact month. Because the pods can be used to determine the degree of ripeness quite easily. If the peas are already clearly visible in the pods, they should be harvested. If you leave the green peas on the plant longer than necessary, they can get a mealy taste. For sugar snap peas, the pods should be at least 5 cm long. But don't wait too long here either, otherwise they will become fibrous.

Our tip: Check your inventory regularly from May/June.

Note the following when harvesting:

  • Harvest for split peas from the end of May, for marrow and mangetout from June
  • The right time to harvest is when the peas are clearly visible in the pods
  • Marrow and green peas become mealy when overripe
  • Mangetout become fibrous when overripe
Peas are a classic vegetable that you can also grow in your own garden

Procedure forHarvesting Peas

Pea harvesting is fairly straightforward and requires no sharp tools. Check your plants regularly in summer and break off mature specimens at the base. Of course, you can also snip off the peas with garden shears. It's a good idea to take a bowl with you when collecting, as there's a good chance you'll harvest a lot of peas on the tour.

Use of peas: with or without pod?

The term pod is often used for peas, although botanically it is actually a pod. When growing peas, it depends on the variety whether you can eat them or not. While you husk the marrow and pear peas and only use the fresh, green peas, you can eat the pods of mangetout. The selection of the variety depends entirely on personal taste.

The pods of the mangetout are edible.

By the way: Peas are the only legumes (Leguminosae) that can be eaten raw. This applies to sugar snap peas as well as to the peas themselves. But be careful with other legumes such as beans - these must always be cooked!

Freezing peas and storing them correctly

In summer it often happens that more peas have to be harvested than you want to use in the kitchen. Luckily, there are a few ways to store protein-rich veggies neatly. Introducing several.

Freeze Peas

Peas are great for freezing - that way they stay crisp and fresh. To increase their shelf life, the peas are first blanched in boiling water and then quenched in cold water. Either a freezer bag or a regular food container can be used for freezing. When using the freezer bag, make absolutely sure that there is no air left in the bag before freezing.

Pea can be frozen for several months.

Dry Peas

Drying peas is ideal for very long storage. Dried peas can easily be kept for up to a year. To dry, either leave the peas in the pods for a few days or remove them beforehand. If you want to save a little time, drying in the oven is recommended. At 50 °C, the peas will keep for a few hours in the oven and can then be filled into jars.

The peas can be dried in the oven.

Cook the peas

A classic method of storing vegetables is to boil them down, which also works great with peas. To do this, proceed as follows: Rinse and boil a mason jar including the rubber seal properly so that there is no contamination. Put the fresh peas in the jar. This is followed by filling up with water, after which the jar must be properly sealed. Now boil the peas in a jar at 100 °C for about 2 hours. You can use either a water bath in the oven or a pressure cooker for this. A major disadvantage of canning compared to freezing is the loss of freshness of the peas. Nevertheless, the method is well suited to preserving the vegetables for several months.

In this article you will find out how to sow new peas next year.

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Category:

Vegetables