"Baz" wrote in message ...

"Bertie Doe" wrote in
:

I have left about 100 pods un-harvested, with a view to collecting
seed, as they're a bit pricey.

Should I leave the swollen pods to dry out in situ or should I shell
them and air-dry the peas? TIA.



Leave them in situ until the pod dries and goes papery. Then pick them and
pod them. Put the dried peas in lightly salted tepid water for an hour or
so to get rid of moth grub. The grub(if any) will float to the top, as some
peas will. Get rid of anything that floats after the hour. Let the sunk
peas dry again and store them.
Bit of a faff, but getting rid of duff seed will give much better
germination rate at sowing time next year. And no grub can hibernate.

I've tried air drying the pods on the vine once before. I may have left them
too late as all the pods went black and I discarded the lot.

Haven't tried again since. Mind you, it was a very wet September that year
IIRC.