Having nurtered your peas to maturity, it is essential that the crop is picked methodically to ensure a maximum harvest. This is how I go about it.
First stage is to carefully fold back the Kevlar reinforced netting that has been keeping the pigeons at bay. Select the first foot or so of the row & begin picking towards the end of the row, taking each pea in turn.
As you glance towards the end of the row, half way along you will notice a pea that is far juicier than then ones you are picking. This must not get away. Leave what you are going & go and pick it. On the way to it, you will notice a few more that you may as well grab now, rather than risk missing them later.
Having got to where you thought the juicy one was you’ll realise that you’ve lost sight of it. You must therefore return to the beginning of the row, where you’ll find you’ve missed a load anyway. As you pick these, you will again notice that juicy pea. Repeat this process as neccessary until you actually locate the target pea.
Having managed to pick the first foot of the row, set your sights on another, but be prepared to have to repeat all the above many times, as the pea further down the row is always juicier.
Caution – that really juicy pea that you can see out of the corner of your eye is actually on your neighbours plot. Thou shalt not covet your neighbour’s peas. Oh, go on then, just the one – nobody's looking.
Repeat as neccessary until you reach the end of the row. A glance backwards will now show up more that you’ve missed, so be prepared to run up & down the row like a person possessed until you are finally happy that you have picked all the juicy ones.
The next BIG step is to wait a couple of days and do this all over again, but this time try & take some home. Further Caution – willpower required. There are now self-help groups being set up to assist in this.