We grew peas when I was a kid, but gave them up as a massive hassle in my early teens. Over half a century later, I’ve just discovered “Tom Thumb” – what took me so long? It dates from the 1850s! It grows to 9 inches high, so no wretched pea-sticks or netting. Young pods can be eaten whole (though it’s more of a snap pea than a sugar pea), so no more laborious shelling of peas out of pods. It’s just coming into flower (photo shows an unwanted passenger …). And, for comparison, I also sowed some “purple snow pea”, which are the row behind the “Tom Thumb”
