Any other veg

I've grown a few peas this season of the variety Dorian, and it's picked me up a couple of wins in the any other veg classes, as well as some other place cards. It's notoriously difficult to grow peas to show in late August and September because of mildew attack but I managed to get these 7 pods (the class wording is 'any other veg, minimum of two) at Sutton Bonington. Peas are one of the 20 point veg and so are worth growing if you can avoid mildew as they always seem to beat other crops such as sweetcorn, squashes, turnips etc.

To get peas on the showbench you need to sow them about 90 days before the show (varies with variety) and pick off any flowers up to 3 weeks before the show. Growing so late also means you tend not to be bothered by pea moth but when you pick them hold them up to the light to make sure there is nothing squidgy lurking inside and that the actual peas are fully formed. Only handle them by the stalks in order to retain the natural 'bloom' on the pods and transport on trays of moist tissue paper to the show.

I noticed that the judges haven't been opening any this season so I wonder if there is a new rule that advises against this, because it always used to be the case that one was 'popped' to see the peas inside.