My lovely snow peas ready to be harvested.

Plenty of vegetables in my garden can be harvested several times over many weeks or even months. Snow peas are one example, but you need to pick them often to make sure you get a good harvest.

The pods are developed from the flowers. They are tiny at first and grow larger with time, how large depends on which variety I'm using. The Swedish variety Lokförare Bergfälts jätteärt can grow to 8 inches (around 20 centimeters) while Norli becomes around 2-3 inches (around 5-7 centimeters.) Read the instructions on the seed packets to learn how large the peas should be when it's time to harvest them.

More about peas: My green summer peas

I harvest snow peas simply by pulling the pod from the little stalk on the plant. I just twist it with one hand and use my other hand to hold on to the plant, so it doesn't get damaged.

The variety Norli grows quickly and the plants are around 23 inches (60 centimeters) large. They grow really nicely along a mesh wire fence.

Regular snow pea pods should be completely flat, while the peas called sugar snap peas are puffier with large peas in the pods. If you decide not to harvest the peas, the seeds start developing instead. This will, in turn, mean that the snow pea stops producing new pods.

More about growing your own food: Beginner's guide to growing vegetables

So, if you want to get plenty of snow peas, you should definitely harvest often. When you harvest the peas, they won't develop into new seeds which means that the plant needs to produce more peas. Harvest a little bit often to get as many peas as possible!

I harvest snow peas again as soon as they are large enough.

More about growing peas: Grow sugar snap peas in pots

The snow peas start looking worse for wear after a few weeks. The leaves lose their color and they won't produce any more peas no matter how often you harvested them. This is just the snow pea life cycle. Then, it's time to sow new peas. I sow my peas a few weeks apart all summer.

I also harvest green beans, broccoli, and zucchini often.
/Sara Bäckmo