I am harvesting the strangest looking sugar peas this year, I've ever seen. They don't taste bad, though I let them go longer than I should have thinking they would "plump up". The peas have formed nicely, but instead of a nice plump pod, it looks more like the've been put up in shrink wrap. I can't honestly remember which cultivar I planted this year, and think maybe it was one I just grabbed at the store. We've had lots of moisture and a beautiful cool spring, which should be optimal growing conditions. Has anyone else ever run into this? I don't know if I goofed up somewhere, or just got an odd variety or bad seed. Even the pods don't taste bad, they just look really strange.
Sugar pea woes!
When you say "sugar peas" are you speaking of English peas (the kind that you shell out the peas and throw away the pods) or snow peas (the ones with the edible pods that you pick before the peas inside have developed)? All the varieties that I have grown with "sugar" in the name are snow peas or peas with edible pods and are picked while the pod is small and before the peas inside develop. With these, if you wait too long to pick them the pods do look as if the peas inside have been shrink-wrapped.
After hot weather hit about two weeks ago, I did get some oddly-shaped snow peas. Very soon after that both kinds pretty much shut down production, and I pulled the plants.
Karen
Can you show us a picture or two? It would help!
I suspect that you planted snow peas versus snap peas. Both often have "sugar" in thier names, but the snap peas will in most cases develop a plump edible pod. Snow peas ( oriental peas) have to be used before the peas start to form.
The peas I, at least meant, to plant were the sugar snap variety. These have edible pods like snow peas, but also form full sized peas inside the pods. There are four or five different varieties. I may have grabbed a package of snow peas by mistake. I would think the pod would taste pretty bad by the time they had full sized peas though, and these don't taste bad, they just look weird. I may never know for sure, just thought I'd see if anyone else had ever run into this problem. Thanks so much for your help. I'll try to read more carefully next time.