Sowing Mangetout and Podded Peas In Succession

Order Seed for Sugarsnap Garden Peas and Mangetout to Sow in March

Dec 8, 2008

Successive sowing of garden peas sugarsnap and mangetout will produce a constant supply of peas until early summer. Here's a guide to sowing peas in early spring.

Before buying seed for sowing peas, Pisum sativum, kitchen gardeners need to decide upon their preferred timing for harvesting peas and a strategy for successive sowing.

Successive Sowing of Peas Seed

In Grow Your Own Veg (Mitchell Beazley, 2007), Carol Klein reports on two main strategies for successive sowing of peas “In order to maintain a steady supply of peas through the season…either sow an early variety every four weeks until midsummer, or make a single sowing of an early, second early, and maincrop variety, each of which will mature at different times”.

Ordering Different Varieties of Peas

Gardeners keen to grow peas next year can decide upon their strategies for sustaining a supply of peas for cooking. Mangetout, sugarsnap, garden peas and petit pois are all possible to order seed to grow.

A kitchen gardener’s choice of variety can be directed by the length of time to produce mature peas. Pea varieties are labelled in one of three ways:

There are varieties of garden peas available as dwarfing, pictured below, which produce heavy crops supported by a greater number of tendrils that hold themselves onto the canes or pea-sticks.

Six varieties of peas are recommended in the Royal Horticultural Society and BBC book Grow Your Own Veg (Mitchell Beazley, 2007):

Sowing Peas in March and Plant Care

If sowing a standard variety of peas, a gardener could set out the peas in two rows either side of canes for support as shown in the image below. Using a finger or a dibber each pea seed can be sown 2 inches (5 cm) deep and about 4 to 5 inches (10 to 12 cms) apart. Such a generous amount of space should help air ventilation around the pea plants as they grow and reduce powdery mildew appearing.

Older varieties of peas including mangetout can grow up to 2 metres in length from sowing in springtime to harvesting in early summer. First-time growers of peas are encourage to read the seed packet or set of seedlings label closely for bespoke information about their peas variety.

Mangetout (snow peas), sugarsnap and garden peas leaves do not tolerate days of heavy rain. Mildew may form on the leaves although this will not reduce the taste sensations of the freshly harvested peas. Powdery mildew is one of the main pests and diseases that threaten growing peas.

Hot and long summer days will not suit most varieties of peas and plant care should include watering around the base of the plants and forking in soil conditioner or homemade well rotted compost in the lead up to early summer.

Freshly matured peas should be harvested regularly for eating direct from the plant or for spring to summer cooking.

The copyright of the article Sowing Mangetout and Podded Peas In Succession in Kitchen Gardens is owned by Susan Morris. Permission to republish Sowing Mangetout and Podded Peas In Succession in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.