Pea yields can vary quite a bit in the home garden, and if you’ve got a bumper crop, shelling them all by hand can feel like a never-ending chore. While it takes a little bit of muscle, you can actually “thresh” smaller quantities using simple tools you probably already have lying around.
Harvesting
To make threshing a breeze, timing is everything. You’ll want to harvest your peas once the pods are completely dry and brittle. This is the best sign that the peas inside are fully mature and ready to go.
You can choose to just snip off the pods, but for threshing, it’s often easier to harvest the entire vine. Pro tip: cut the plants at the base rather than pulling them out by the roots. This keeps dirt out of your harvest and saves you a lot of cleaning later on.
Once harvested, let your peas sit out in the sun for a few days. If you harvested the whole vine, make sure the entire plant is bone-dry. If it’s still a bit flexible or green, it’s going to be a nightmare to separate the peas from the plant material later.
Threshing Your Peas
When everything is nice and crunchy, grab a large burlap or linen sack and fill it up. Back in the day, farmers used a tool called a “flail” for this, but those are pretty hard to find at the local hardware store now! Instead, you can hang the bag up securely and give it a good thwack with a sturdy stick. Another method that works great is simply slamming the bag repeatedly against a hard floor.
All that impact breaks the pods open, letting the peas fall free. Every few minutes, take a peek inside to see how things are looking. Once the pods are mostly crushed, empty the contents of the bag into a large bowl and pick out the big stems and leaves by hand. Now, you’ll just be left with the peas and some smaller bits of “chaff.”
There are a few ways to separate the rest of the debris. You can use a sieve for the fine dust, or use the “winnowing” method. While professional seed-cleaning machines (called winnowers) are super expensive, you can DIY it with a hair dryer! Just let the peas trickle slowly in front of the dryer’s airflow. Keep it on the lowest setting so you blow away the light husks without sending your peas flying across the room.
Cleaning the Peas
Even after threshing, your peas might still be a little dusty. Give them a quick rinse under cold water. Any remaining bits of plant matter will usually float to the top, making them easy to skim off. After that, spread your peas out to dry in a well-ventilated spot, and you’re all set!