Carlins revisited

The Carlins, started in March have reached the end of their cycle. The pods are turning paper thin, the seeds are drying, the vines are dying. Time to harvest.



I'm really pleased with the way they've turned out. The plants are hardy and vigorous, these have survived some poor treatment and indifferent weather to produce a good crop. Although they are really grown as a dried pulse for winter use fresh peas taken young are perfectly acceptable and make a pleasant addition to the early summer vegetables. They are prolific croppers, appear to be immune to pea moth (or lucky) and the dry pods don't shatter, a useful attribute that leads to a less frustrating harvesting experience.



With as many as nine peas to a pod it is a rewarding task to sit and shell them for an hour. These will dry now for a few more days before being packed away for winter soups and a dish of Carlins next spring.

I'll have some seed to spare so the first three people in the EU to mail me at catofstripes [at] gmail [dot] com with their snail mail address will receive small packs (25 seeds) of peas so they can try them next year. I'd like to send the seeds further afield but think that they might fall foul of Customs regulations. It would be a pity to waste them.