Harvested some of the Onward and Golden Sweet (as peas) yesterday and my sons and I had great fun podding them.
I did however notice that some of the uppermost of the Golden Sweet had been munched by some catapillars, I presume this is the dreaded pea moth or similar. Interestingly it was the thinner podded Golden Sweet that was affected and not the Onward. Catapillars had got inside the pods and munched a few peas.
The purple podded that are still growing, havent fattened up yet so they might go for them next.
The leaves of all the pea plants have all been munched on too, is this likely to be the pea moths or something else?
Is there anything I can do at this late stage or just harvest what I can now?
Yes it's pea moth, if you try a late sowing now you should get a crop that will have missed the moth's laying time (thats the recommendation by Dr Hessayon anyway)
Hope this helps
They lay eggs in the flowers so the pod toughness isn't an issue...
they won't be eating the leaves... molluscs or pigeons... :-\
...or sparrows... >:( ::)
We always put a net canopy over ours to keep the pigeons off. Ambassador is a lovley late pea to grow and it doesn't get mildew either. We grow them to eat at the plot while we are working. They never ever get to the pan
You might have the moth, you might also have the weevil. The adult weevil tends to nibble notches in the leaves, sometimes burrows into the pods, and their larvae attack roots. The moth tends to lay its eggs at flowering, and the larvae nibble at the peas inside the pods.
Well there was holes in some of the pods and the leaves have been nibbled all over, with sometimes a thin layer of leaf left. I've harvested all but the purple podded this morning.