‘I love Peas!’ orginally uploaded by magnusmagnus.

Peas have got a reputation for being a little tricky, but they’re more than worth the hassle. You’ll nver buy a packet of frozen petis pois once you’ve eaten your own produce. As soon as peas are picked, their natural sugars begin to convert to starch, so eat them quickly once you’ve harvested – although you’ll probably need no encouragement.

There are two types of peas – shelling and mangetouts, which are pictured in Magnus’ photo.

Shelling peas are the fat pads containing mature peas. If you need a hardy cultivar, grow plants which produce round, smooth peas, but if it’s taste you’re looking for, then grow the unattractively named wrinkled peas.

Mangetouts and sugarsnaps are flat pods eaten before the seed has had a chance to develop, although you can let mangetouts develop full seeds and use them as you would shelling peas.

Growing peas
Peas are best grown in an open sunny site with good drainage as waterlogged soil can cause rotting. Make sure that you have dug the soil over thoroughly in the the autumn and added plenty of organic matter to increase the fertility of the beds as much as possible.

Sow unprotected crops from mid-spring until the early summer. If you’re too early, you’re likely to run into trouble as peas are quite delicate. And if you’re late, you’ll have problems too as the peas don’t germinate well in hot weather. Make sure that the soil is warm before sowing. Don’t worry too much about preparing a fine tilth as pea seeds are very large. Create a 5cm deep v-shaped drill (trench) and water before sowing seeds 10cm apart.

Maintaining peas
When the plants reach 7-10cm high, they will produce their first tendrils. At this point you must ensure that they have adequate support in the form of canes, pea sticks, wigwams or trellis. Peas are quite heavy, so make sure that whatever you provide is strong. At this point you should also mulch heavily to prevent competition from weeds.

A common mistake is to over-water pea plants before they flower. If peas have too much to drink too early, they will put their energy into producing a great deal of bushy growth and fewer pods. Once the pods have appeared, you can give these thirsty plants a good drink every day, which will increase the flavour of the peas.

Harvesting peas
Harvest when the pods are comfortably plump but not fully mature. Start from the bottom of the plant and work your way up. Remember that peas need regular harvesting to reach their full productivity, so keep picking. Mangtouts should be harvestsd when you can see the outlines of peas forming in the pod. If the pod snaps cleanly in half, then the mangetout is ready.

Pea root nodules contain nitrogen, so once your plants have finished cropping, chop the plants down to just above soil level and dig in to improve soil nutrient.

Pests
Peas are delicious and there are a number of animals and insects who agree. If your garden is visited by mice, then you’ll need to set moustraps to prevent them from devastating the crop. Cover the plants with fine nets to frustrate greedy birds and the pea moth, which lays its eggs on pea flowers.