I just picked one last bag of peas, and noticed that a lot of the pods were already starting to get dry and wrinkly. Not good for eating, but I thought perhaps I could go ahead and save them for seed. I have two questions, though.
1. Do the mature pods need to dry on the vine? I'd like to get the plants pulled out and my summer veggies in. Also, something is snacking on them, so if they have to stay out there I might not have many left.
2. It looks like I'm starting to get powdery mildew on the plants (at least, I think that's what it is.) Will that matter for seed saving?
As always, thanks for any help!
Jill
Saving peas for seed?
Jill, If your peas were a hybrid they may not be true or germinate. I don't exactly remember, but some offspring of hybrids are mules. If its an heirloom or standard, by all means try some. I wouldn't save any with heavy mildew, and you can treat them by adding a little fungicide powder to the envelope. That is why many seeds are pink or blue, to show they were treated. Ric
These were Wandos, which I think are an older heirloom--so I should be OK in that respect.
If the pods are starting to wrinkle anyway I'd just pull them up and let them dry somewhere, and then shell them. I save pea seeds all the time. Sometimes when I shell them they're still green, although hard and dry, and sometimes they're a pale yellow, but I don't know that that makes any difference in germination.
There are no English pea hybrids, so you should be ok for seed saving. If the peas are mature you should be able to dry them all right, altho the more they dry on the vine the better.