On 30/06/2013 18:53, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
As far as I can tell most if not all home grown (garden or allotment) peas
and beans are grown up a support - pea sticks or netting.

When I look in the fields the varieties seem to be short vertical stout
stems with blue/white flowers and no support.

A quick Google shows either vining machines for fresh green peas or a
combined harvester for dried peas.

So are commercial varsities very different from the home grown?

The ones in the fields certainly look easier to grow :-)

Cheers

Dave R

Yes, commercial pea varieties are designed to have ALL the peas ready
for picking at the same time, not really what you want from a domestic crop.