Tiny little worms

[HeyWayne]

Harvested the first of my purple podded peas at the weekend and had them for dinner last night (think they were in the water too long though as they seemed a bit tough - oops!). Anyway, whilst shelling them I noticed a few peas with tiny holes in, and in some cases a minute caterpiller/worm. What is it?

Also noticed that the peas "inner shell" was a pale green once cooked and the inner pea within this "skin" was vivid green. Being dense, did I miss a vital part of the shelling process out?

[Flump]

It sounds like it might be pea moth? I'm no expert mind

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[HeyWayne]

That's them!!!! Little blighters.

Right, now need to see what to do about them....

Thanks Ma.

[di]

From what I know the moth lays her eggs on the flowers before the pod forms.Early & late sowings are supposed to help combat the problem,or some netting over the peas that the moths cant get through.Chap on our plot soaks his seeds in petrol!!Personally I don't fancy that but he claims it works!
I discovered a couple in our sugar snaps which is gutting cos now i got to shell them all!!(wish i hadn't noticed!)

[Flummery]

Definitely pea moth HW. You can spot this at the shelling stage and avoid cooking the afftected peas. Puts you off a bit though. Enviromesh helps, seeing as peas don't need insects to pollinate them.
Purple podded peas tend to be a bit tough - and raw, they are a bit bitter too. What variety are they? I've got Lancashire Lad which I found make a good mangetout if you pick them young and flat - you can even eat them in a salad at this stage - but I'm saving the rest for dried peas. We northerners like our mushy peas you know. You can use them in home made pea soup too, but again, I'm going to dry them for this. I think the bright green inside is similar to what you get in broad beans. It's not a problem unless you don't like it!

[HeyWayne]

They're Stephens - Heritage ones.

LadyWayne, being Norvern is also a bit partial to mushy peas (although she's taken a recent liking to puree'd peas - blitzed with hand blender and mint added).

They do have the same kind of look as broad beans actually (we had some of these too with dinner last night).

Dried peas? How/what would you use them for?

Might try them as mange tout - given that my sugarsnap's are doing really badly.

[Flummery]

Let them dry on the vine and then shell them. By this point they'll be hard and possibly wrinkled (though at my age I'm not knocking that!) To use them, soak them overnight then cook without salt until soft (and mushy, of course). Then if you want to be southern and poncy you can add mint and puree them but it's an abomination really and I shouldn't encourage you.
It's a bit hit and miss getting the amount of water right for mushies, you need to keep checking and adding a bit if it's drying up. For soup it's less critical, and when cooked you can add stock (made from cubes is fine) and/or chopped ham etc. Only add salt when cooked because salt toughens the skins.

[HeyWayne]

Only add salt when cooked because salt toughens the skins.

That'll be what did it then!

Thanks Ma.

[Two_Sheds]

Def. Pea Moth Wayne. I posted a post on this a few weeks back. If you net/fleece your peas they won't be attacked.

[Two_Sheds]

here it is: http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...uly_18097.html

[kentvegplot]

I'm using my purple podded for mange tout, as I remember seeing somewhere that they're a bit tough as fresh peas, but fine for dried. They keep their colour when briefly cooked and make a lovely contrast with ordinary green mange tout.

I've got some with pea moth too, but only those low to the ground. Co-incidence?