peas sugersnaps mangetout

[miker2d2]

whats the difference? are they just the pea pods in different stages of growth?
I have some early onwards, it appears I would get more useable crop by eating the whole pod before the peas fully develop?
will picking the pods regularly encourage more growth as it does with beans?

cheers

Mike

[Flummery]

Peas, when mature, have a stiff membrane - like thick paper - on the inside of the pod. That's why you can't tell if they are ready till you op one. The membrane forms the shape of the pod. With a mangetout, when it's mature you can feel the peas because it doesn't have a membrane. It's therefore more tender to eat than a non-mangetout at the same stage of growth. A sugarsnap has a thicker pod than a mangetout (but no tough membrane) so the pod is crunchier usually.

Picking certainly encourages the plants to throw more flowers up so you do get a higher yeild if you pick regularly.

With Early Onward you probably could eat them undeveloped but they won't be as nice and tender as a real mangetout. I'd say it's horses for courses. If you want podders, sow podders, if you want to eat the whole lot, go for a snap or a mangetout (also called snow peas in the US) as they won't surprise you with a nasty mouthful of toughness!

[miker2d2]

thanks flummery, a good informative reply

[Snadger]

As Flum says............grow both then you'll have the best of both worlds.

I love mangetout because they are huge croppers, their is no waste, they have a lovely fresh crunchy taste and they freeze well!

I've never grown sugarsnaps before................maybe time to give them a try!

[Alison]

I grow a few sugar snaps in the polytunnel for an early crop (they've almost finished now) as well as some early dwarf peas but outside I have a lot of proper podding peas as well as a couple of rows of mange tout. They're all related but as Flum says, different and all truely lovely. Had a mix of all three tonight for our tea (with a few broad beans and forced French beans too ) and they were truely lovely and it was really nice to have a mix of shapes and textures.