The pea is one of the first things allowed into the bed in the garden year, and one of the most rewarding too. It germinates in cool soil, grows fast and, freshly harvested, tastes so sweet that half the crop often vanishes raw right in the bed.
Before you sow, one decision pays off: which type do you want? For a pea is not just a pea. Three groups with quite different characters are on offer. This article introduces them and shows how to grow peas properly from sowing to harvest.
Three pea types, three characters
The difference lies in the seed and in the pod. The round pea, also called shelling pea, has round, smooth seeds, is the most robust and may go out earliest. It is usually dried and is the classic soup and stew pea.
The marrowfat pea you recognise by the wrinkled dry seed. It is the sweetest and the typical garden pea for eating fresh, but a little more frost-sensitive. With the mangetout, finally, you eat the whole tender pod, because it lacks the hard parchment layer inside.
Which type for which purpose?
- Round pea (shelling pea)
Round, smooth seed, most robust and earliest. Classic as a drying, soup and stew pea. Tolerates cool soil and can be sown early in March.
- Marrowfat pea
Wrinkled seed, the sweetest pea for eating fresh and freezing. The typical garden pea. A little more frost-sensitive, so sow one to two weeks later.
- Mangetout
Tender pod without a hard inner layer, completely edible. Harvested young as a crisp sugar pod, the snacking vegetable for children and bed-nibblers par excellence.
- Mind the harvest moment
Round and marrowfat peas you harvest when the seeds are full but still tender. Mangetout, by contrast, early and flat, before the seeds swell and the pod turns stringy.
The mangetout, the snacking vegetable
When children are to help in the garden, the mangetout is the best choice. You pick the flat pods young and eat them raw, sweet and crisp straight from the plant. So they stay tender, the rule is: better a few days too early than too late.
How you grow peas
Sow early and direct
Peas go straight into the bed, no raising needed. Round peas from March, marrowfat peas one to two weeks later, in rows about 3 to 5 centimetres deep.
Put up a support
Almost all peas climb. Brushwood, a net or a wire mesh gives support, keeps the pods clean and dry and makes harvesting easier.
Water moderately
Until flowering peas get by on little water. From flowering and pod set water evenly, that fills the seeds.
Harvest from the bottom up
The lowest pods ripen first. Picking regularly keeps the plant cropping, pods left to go hard stop new ones forming.
Sow early, put up a support, harvest from the bottom. And the sweetest pea is the one that never even makes it to the kitchen.
The core rule for peas
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between marrowfat, round and mangetout peas?
The round pea has a round seed, is the most robust and is usually dried. The marrowfat pea has a wrinkled seed and is the sweetest fresh pea. With the mangetout you eat the whole tender pod, because it lacks the hard inner layer.
When can I sow peas?
Early, because peas germinate in the cold. Round peas may go straight into the bed from March, as soon as the soil has dried off. The slightly more frost-sensitive marrowfat peas are sown one to two weeks later. Raising them indoors is not necessary.
Do peas need a support?
Almost all peas climb and reward a support with more yield. Brushwood, a net or a wire mesh keeps the pods clean and dry and makes harvesting easier. Only a few low varieties get by without.
Do I have to fertilise peas?
No, on the contrary. As a legume the pea fixes its own nitrogen from the air with nodule bacteria. Nitrogen fertiliser rather harms, because it only encourages leaf mass. After harvest leave the roots in the soil, that feeds the following crop.
When and how do you harvest peas correctly?
Round and marrowfat peas you harvest when the seeds are full but still tender, mangetout early and flat before they swell. Pick from the bottom up and regularly, because ripe pods left hanging stop new ones forming.
