
11 things you shouldn't do in a hot tub
23rd June 2022
We use cookies to allow us and selected partners to improve your experience and our advertising. By continuing to browse you consent to our use of cookies. You can understand more and change your cookies preferences here.
Peas are easy to grow from seed for delicious summer crops. You can even eat the shoots in stir fries.
Make more of your garden - get our free Gardening newsletter for top tips from our experts
January | February | March | April | May | June |
SOW | SOW | SOW | SOW | SOW/HARVEST | |
July | August | September | October | November | December |
HARVEST | HARVEST | HARVEST | HARVEST |
Which? members can log in now to see the full results and detailed reviews of our Best Buy varieties. If you’re not a member, join Which? to get instant access.
Variety name | Overall rating | Yield | Health and vigour | Pod taste and appearance |
---|---|---|---|---|
★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | |
★★★☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | |
★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | |
★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | |
★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | |
★★☆☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ |
USING THE TABLE Yield: weight harvested from a two-metre staggered row. OVERALL RATING Ignores price and is based on: yield 25%, health 25%, pod taste and appearance 25%, equal weighting for no of harvests, weeks of harvest and germination 25%.
Variety name | Overall rating | Yield | Health and vigour | Pod taste and appearance |
---|---|---|---|---|
★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ | |
★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | |
★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ | |
★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | |
★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | |
★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | |
★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ |
USING THE TABLE Yield: weight harvested from a two-metre staggered row. OVERALL RATING Ignores price and is based on: yield 25%, health 25%, pod taste and appearance 25%, equal weighting for no of harvests, weeks of harvest and germination 25%.
We chose 10 widely available varieties of mangetout and six sugar snaps. In April, we sowed our peas in rootrainer modules and kept them in a heated greenhouse until they germinated. We then hardened them off in the coldframe. Our trial bed was in a sunny spot with free-draining soil. In May, we erected posts two metres apart and attached pea netting to support the plants. We enclosed the bed in a fruit cage to stop the birds eating the seedlings. We planted around 30 plants of each variety, in staggered rows, 10cm apart either side of the netting, and watered them in well. We fed the peas every two weeks with a tomato feed once they started to crop and watered regularly, changing to a foliar feed later in the season. Many of the varieties developed powdery mildew, and pea wilt also affected some of them. We removed individual plants when the mildew and pea wilt started to affect growth and cropping. We harvested the peas twice a week, making sure we picked the pods before they got too large. We weighed them and recorded the health of the plants. We then tasted them raw and cooked.
Sow in modules or rootrainers, from March to June. Or sow outdoors, 4cm deep and 5cm apart from April onwards. For continuous crops, make several sowings, each a few weeks apart, up to June.
Mangetout is French for ‘eat all’, so you might think this could refer to both mangetout and sugar snaps. However, mangetout are flat pods of peas that have yet to develop. Confusingly they are also known as snow peas or sugar peas. Sugarsnaps, meanwhile, have thicker pods that are juicier, rounded and slightly curved.
If you just want to eat the crunchy leaf shoots in stir fries and salads, sow peas in module trays as early as February. Then plant outside and once they have grown about 30cm tall, pinch out the shoots – which will encourage ones lower down to grow and replace them. They can be cropped like this for several months.
Erect supports either before or soon after planting. Pea netting, with its wide mesh, can be strung between poles. Twiggy sticks also make a good support, either in a row or as a wigwam. Plant out module plants from April onwards, 10cm apart in staggered rows.
Water regularly, particularly once the plants start to flower. Keep the area weed free, but avoid weeding too close to the base of the roots, as this can cause damage and allow pea wilt to enter. If you have a fertile soil, you shouldn’t need to feed. On poor soil, water on a tomato feed every two weeks.
Harvest in: June to October
Hold the plant and snap off the peas. Harvest regularly to avoid the peas becoming large, tough and stringy.
Mice love pea seeds, so sow them in modules under cover.
Birds peck out seedlings and tear the leaves, so cover with netting.
Powdery mildew affects pea plants in dry weather. There are no fungicides for use on edible crops, so water regularly and avoid growing peas during the hottest summer months.
Read more about powdery mildew.
Pea wilt, a form of fusarium, causes the plants to blanch, wilt and die back. You need to remove affected plants when the problem appears.
The caterpillars of this moth tunnels through pea pods.