HIT THE HEIGHTS WITH SNOW PEAS

Nothing beats the taste of freshly picked home-grown peas, but mangetouts and sugar snaps are on another level...

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Peas are a favourite for garden veg patches and allotments. They are easy to grow, easy to store, versatile and delicious - but for many the real delicacies are the flat-podded mangetouts (or snow peas) and slightly meatier and crunchier sugar snaps.

Perfect in stir-fries or raw in salads, these sweet delights are at their best when harvested young, so do require attention at harvest time to ensure they are picked at their tender best. Mangetout pods are harvested before the peas fully form and while the pods are still flat, but if you do miss a few they are also tasty when picked and podded once the peas are well formed, just like podding peas. Sugar snaps are harvested later, when the walls of the pods have fattened, which gives them their ‘meatier’, crunchy texture. As a result, the peas inside are more formed but still tender and sweet.

SITE AND SOIL

Peas thrive best in a sunny site and in soil which has had some well-rotted manure or garden compost added in the winter before sowing or for a previous crop. This boosts the capacity of the soil to hold water - important for peas - and also ensures a good level of nutrients.

Even so it is a good idea to add a balanced feed, such as blood, fish and bone or Vitax Q4, two weeks before sowing or planting. Avoid over-feeding as this can make the plants more susceptible to mildew (see below) and, if possible, grow your peas in ground which has not previously grown peas or beans for at least two years.

SOWING HINTS

Mangetouts and sugar snaps are grown in the same way as ordinary podding peas and can be sown from March to the end of June, although some varieties can be sown until the end of July.