How To Grow Mangetout Pea Plant In Home Garden | Aplus Farms

Mangetout is the French word for peas that are eaten in the pod. The word translates as "eat everything" and that's what you do with sugarsnap and snow peas, which are the Australian names for peas eaten in the pod.

As these peas are immature they are tender and, with little fibrous material in their skins, they are sweet and easy to eat with little preparation. Peas that look a little large may need to have their stalk and string (side edge) removed, but otherwise just steam mangetout peas lightly then eat. 

They are also more appealing to children than other green vegetables (including traditional green peas). It's because of the sweetness of snow peas or sugarsnaps that children often eat mangetout peas but refuse to eat garden peas. 

Snow peas and sugarsnaps are not just sweet morsels. As they are eaten pod and all, they add fibre to the diet, contain useful amounts of protein and provide a wide range of vitamins and nutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin B and folate. 

Farming Mangetout Pea 

Mangetout peas grow best through the cooler months of the year but can be planted to grow and produce year round in cooler areas. Late summer, autumn and winter is planting season. In cool areas, seeds can also be sown in early spring. 

Both snow and sugarsnap peas are easy to grow from seed. Direct-sow seeds 2.5cm deep and around 5cm apart or place a seed at the base of each plant support. Alternatively, look out for punnets of seedlings at the local garden centre. They are plentiful in autumn and winter. 

As these vegies grow best in soil with a neutral pH (around 6-7), add a few handfuls of lime to acid soils before planting. Give plants a climbing support such as a trellis or a simple tripod of three sticks or stakes that can be pushed into the ground, into a raised vegie bed or even into a large container. 

• Make the climbing support at least 2m high and put it in place at planting. 
• Peas climb by wrapping their delicate tendrils around their support. 
• When they are just starting off, the young plants need encouragement to grab onto the frame or stake that will be their home. 

Assist young plants by placing twigs nearby so searching tendrils have something to grasp until reaching the lower rungs of their support. 

• Snow and sugarsnap peas are quick to germinate.
• Seedlings should emerge in 7-10 days from sowing. 
• They grow rapidly and the white (or sometimes crimson flowers in the case of snow peas) quickly form their edible pods.

GROWING & CAREING

• These peas grow quickly and produce their first pods within 8-10 weeks of planting. 
• Encourage this rapid growth and pod production with regular doses of organic liquid fertiliser. 
• If you have access to a worm farm, use diluted worm wee as a liquid fertiliser for peas and other vegies.
• Snow and sugarsnap peas grow best in full sun but can tolerate some shade and still produce delicious pods. 
• Too much shade, however, increases the likelihood of fungal disease such as powdery mildew. 
• As these plants are quick to grow and flourish through the cooler months, they rarely suffer pests or diseases. 
• As the weather warms, plants decline and diseases such as bacterial spot or mildew are more likely. 
• The easiest way to deal with these problems is to harvest what's left then remove the plants to make way for a warm-season vegetable such as tomato or cucumber.

HARVESTING, STORING, NUTRIENTS 

• As soon as the broad, flat snow pea pods are around 5-6 cm long they are ready to harvest. 
• Left longer they get bigger and coarser. 
• Sugarsnaps are picked when the pods are small. 
• Left longer, they mature into peas that require shelling (also called podding) before they are cooked and eaten.
• Plants crop quickly, so six to eight plants are generally enough to yield a few handfuls every few days, which is ideal for a family meal. 

They can be eaten raw, sliced into a salad, steamed as a green vegetable or stir-fried. If you accidently pick off the growing tips as you harvest don't be concerned, just toss them into the stir-fry or salad. 

• Snow and sugarsnap peas are very productive, so you may have more than you can use fresh. 
• Excess can be stored in the crisper section of the fridge for several days or frozen to use later. 
• Sugarsnaps left on the bush can be eaten podded like any other green pea.

"As these peas are immature they are tender and, with little fibrous material in their skins, they are sweet and easy to eat with little preparation" 

 

How To Prepare Soil For Planting 

1. Peas are legumes, which means they are plants that benefit the soil. 
2. As pea plants grow they add nitrogen to the soil in a process described as "fixing". 
3. These plants are able to take nitrogen from the air and, with the aid of beneficial bacteria in their root nodules, add nitrogen into the soil. 
4. Other plants that use nitrogen - such as leafy greens including lettuce and rocket are good companions to plant with or after a crop of snow or sugarsnap peas.

Scientific Mangetout Pea

• Common names : Snow pea, sugarsnap 
• Botanical name : Pisum sativum var. saccharatum 
• Family : Fabaceae 
• Aspect & soil : Sun to light shade; well-drained soil 
• Best climate : All areas 
• Habit : Annual climber 
• Propagation : Seed, seedling 
• Difficulty : Easy