When: Peas mature quickly after pollination, so you have to check on the plants regularly (every day or so). You must pick the pods when they size up, even if you don’t want to eat them, otherwise production will decline. In cool weather, a well managed planting may yield for as long as 6 weeks, though if the weather turns hot it may be as short as 2 weeks.

Snow peas should be picked after the pods have reached full size, but before the peas inside start to swell. Don’t make the common mistake of harvesting smaller pods in the belief they will be better. They will be tender but they won’t be very sweet.

How: The pods start to ripen at the base of the plant first. Remove them from the plants carefully, so you don’t damage the vines. Hold the plant with one hand, and pull down on the pod with the other.

If the pods have a string down each side, the best technique is to snap off the pod by bending it to one side. This breaks the pod but not the strings, so if you then pull on the pod, it will peel off the strings and leave them attached to the plant.