Advice on growing sugar snap peas
Sugar snap peas are a very popular vegetable to grow in the garden. They are simple to grow and are popular with schools and parents, on top of being easy to look after. Children often enjoy popping the pods open to expose the peas inside, which is a great way of getting children involved in gardening.
If you want to grow sugar snap peas, here are some tips:
Sugar snap peas can grow in cooler climates so they can be planted in early spring. If you want an autumn harvest, as well as a summer harvest, plant another set of seeds towards the end of the summer. Plant the sugar snap pea seeds around an inch down in the soil to prevent animals from eating them. You can treat the seeds prior to planting them, but this is not essential.
Sow the seeds around 2 inches apart to give them enough room to grow. Sugar snap peas cultivate well in raised beds, but they can also grow in floor-levels beds.
Care and preservation
Sugar snap peas grow very quickly so it is a good suggestion to put up support as soon as you plant the seeds (or even before). The support will hold the plants in place while they grow upwards. Sugar snap peas do not require a great deal of care, but you will want to water the plants on a regular basis and take care to remove weeds from the bed – this is really all that needs doing.
Harvesting sugar snap peas
You should harvest your sugar snap peas when they are plump and full-sized. Do not leave them beyond this point, as they may start to dry up and decrease in size. Once harvested, your peas are ready to eat and can be eaten raw or you can boil, steam or bake them.