[TheSpartacat]

There's a tall variety of sugar snap as well... for greater productivity...

Which variety is this?  (I only have room for 10m of peas)

Yup, as others have said, mine are also just called "Sugar Snap". Apparently they were the original sugar snap bred in 1979. They do get tall- 6-7 foot or so.

[shokkyy]

There's a tall variety of sugar snap as well... for greater productivity...

Which variety is this?  (I only have room for 10m of peas)

I find a lot of the time mangetout and sugar snap are used to mean much the same thing. That being the case, if you're looking for a tall mangetout, I can highly recommend Carouby de Maussanne. I grew them last year and they reached the top of 8 foot canes, had flowers every bit as beautiful as sweet peas, and gave me a fabulous and problem free crop of very tasty mangetout. Seeds are cheap as chips on ebay.

[Brassica Blaz]

mmmm,there are lots of positives to this pea growing and i think munching on some crispy sugar snap peas would be a real treat whilst working on the lotty.i think the tall climbing type to grow up a wigwam of canes would be an ideal start for me to get the pea bug.thank you for all your input on the subject. :)oh and i,m glad DD didnt use his light saber on me!!

[DD.]

I reserve the light sabre for people who grow brassicas in heated propagators!

Word of caution in growing tall peas.

They won't climb like runner beans and will need additional support such as netting to cling on to. (Then it's a heck of a job to get the old pea straw off it).

[Brassica Blaz]

I reserve the light sabre for people who grow brassicas in heated propagators!

Word of caution in growing tall peas.

They won't climb like runner beans and will need additional support such as netting to cling on to. (Then it's a heck of a job to get the old pea straw off it).

noted DD.

[Beano]

My husband bought tall peas seed in error. They grow to about 4 ft before they start producing any peas. So I grew shorter ones in amongst them. That seemed to work.

[lacewing]

Are peas worth growing......Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!!

Last year I grew Colossal climbing peas on a single frame of netting, the weight of the plants + peapods caused the netting to keel over. This year I intend to use two frames of netting and plant the peas in between. Hopefully that should provide better support.
I love home grown peas, cooked and uncooked.  Still eating last year's crop!

[mumofstig]

I find a lot of the time mangetout and sugar snap are used to mean much the same thing

They are definitely 2 different things. Mangetout have very thin pods and you eat them when the pods are flat.
Whereas sugarsnap pods get fleshy in the same way as runner beans and the peas inside are a normal size - so you get a tremendous yield from them

[TheSpartacat]

I find a lot of the time mangetout and sugar snap are used to mean much the same thing. That being the case, if you're looking for a tall mangetout, I can highly recommend Carouby de Maussanne. I grew them last year and they reached the top of 8 foot canes, had flowers every bit as beautiful as sweet peas, and gave me a fabulous and problem free crop of very tasty mangetout. Seeds are cheap as chips on ebay.

Shokkyy, you're certainly correct that some seed catalogues, to confuse matters, seem to list varieties of Sugarsnaps under the heading of Mangetout... because Mangetout means 'eat all', i guess sugar snaps fall under that description in their book, and they must be using mangetout as a broader description... however, the 'sugar snap peas' I'm talking about that grow tall are the chubby crunchy sweet ones... as MOS says, they are distinctly different.

Just for example's sake... here's Suttons describing a sugar snap pea as a mangetout type.
http://www.suttons.co.uk/Gardening/Vegetables/Vegetable+Seeds/Pea+Sugar+Snap+Delikett+Seeds_193192.htm?sku=193192

[JayG]

At least the RHS themselves know the difference:

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/Plant-trials-and-awards/Plant-awards/AGM-fruit-and-veg/AGMbeans2010

(Mind you, according to them their sugar snap award winners are either dwarf, medium, or "dunno"!)

[TheSpartacat]

At least the RHS themselves know the difference:

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/Plant-trials-and-awards/Plant-awards/AGM-fruit-and-veg/AGMbeans2010

(Mind you, according to them their sugar snap award winners are either dwarf, medium, or "dunno"!)

Um, I'm not sure about that. They've listed Norli as a Sugar Snap, but i've grown it, and its definitely an early flat podded Mangetout!!?  :blink:

[JayG]

OK, how about "The RHS know there are two different types, but don't necessarily always know which ones are which?!" 

[TheSpartacat]

OK, how about "The RHS know there are two different types, but don't necessarily always know which ones are which?!" 

Lets put it down to a clerical error.... *ahem*

[RobertSongs]

Well looks like i might have to grow some for eating myself this year too..I`ve been using morrisons marrow fat dried peas as a green manure..planted very densely they self support give a good amount of foliage and at about 80p a pack are great value also there are the two added bonuses 1 they nitrogen fix (not sure on the amounts in comparison to other leguminous green manures though) and 2 you can eat the shoots..it sounds like a win win to me! but after reading all the enthusiastic comments i will be growing some sugar snap for the table this year..

[Ian_A]

peas are ok. Not the most wonderful veg in the world and arguably nicest eaten raw on the allotment, and the amount needed to sow for what little one gets...... But as with all stuff grown, it is each to their own. The flowers look pretty though but I always grow some purely to munch down on the plot.

Where peas are much more interesting, is the sowing of them for their pea shoots: a far nicer taste and a wonderful addition to salads (and soooo expensive at the rare supermarkets that sell pea shoots). I do a couple of rows just for pea shoots.