When to Pick Sugar Snap Peas

Peas are a popular vegetable to grow, especially in cooler areas since peas have no problem with cool weather and frost, and even require a sufficiently long cool season to survive. They need plenty of water and are often the target of hungry animals, but when grown correctly they can provide an abundance of green pods which can be used for many different dishes.

Generally, peas are divided into garden peas, snap peas and snow peas. Garden peas are harvested primarily for the peas themselves and come in both sweet varieties for use in salads and other simple dishes, and not-as-sweet varieties that can be used to make soups. Snap peas were developed to grow low-volume pods that do not have much fiber. Not only do these pods take less nutrients to grow, they can be used in a much earlier stage of growth. Snap peas are usually "snapped" off the stalk and eaten whole when the peas inside are still immature. These peas can also be harvested and used in many different dishes, including salads and stir-fry.

Even more useful for such dishes are the newest version of pea, the snow or sugar pea. These peas are designed to be harvested when very young, before the peas have a chance to develop at all, leaving only the sweet pod. Sugar snap peas can be planted any time in the late winter or spring, as long as the soil is dry enough and above 45 degrees F.

The goal with snow or sugar peas is to harvest the pea pod before the peas have time to grow, but when the pod itself has grown large enough to be edible and develop flavor. As a rule of thumb, try to pick the pods before the peas inside have grown to the size of BB pellets, which is usually around a week or so after flowering. You should keep a close eye on the pod development to be sure, since peas can have varying growth spurts. Once you start harvesting, you should be picking pods every day to ensure the plant keeps producing young pods. If you find pods that have grown to normal size and developed real peas, you can shell these and use them just like you would garden peas.

For snap pea varieties, the same general rules apply. Keep a close eye on pod growth and once you start harvesting be sure to keep picking pods every couple days. Pick the pods when they start to grow fat but before the peas reach normal size. Keep in mind you can always shell and use peas that have grown too large. This variety grows about 3 to 4 feet high before it starts to produce flowers and pods. The pods themselves will be 2 to 4 inches long when they are ready to be harvested. In the correct soil, the peas will grow throughout the wet season and can be harvested as long they keep growing.