Last edited on 25 Feb 2026. View history

Snap Pea

Also known as sugar snap peas (en) mangetout (en)

A variety of pea

How to sow snap pea: Direct seed outdoors, thin to 12cm apart when seedlings are 3cm high

Sun requirement for snap pea: Plant in Full Sun

Snap peas are a cultivar group of edible-podded peas that have round pods instead of flat pods (like snow peas). They were developed in 1952 by cross-breeding snow pea with a mutant shell pea plant. The pods are edible and contain 3-8 peas. They are harvested when they are bright green, young, and tender. Snap peas are a cool weather crop and require trellising to support their climbing vines.

18: plantings
9: harvests
3: seed packets

Growstuff is a free, community-run site for people who grow food. Keep track of what you plant and harvest, find seeds to swap, and see what is growing near you. Join to record your own snap peas.

Snap pea facts

Lifespan

Annual living and reproducing in a single year or less

28 weeks median lifespan

First harvest expected

6 weeks after planting

Last harvest expected

6 weeks after planting

Height × spread

150cm × 20cm

Row Spacing

12cm

Grown for

pod harvested 9 times

Growing snap peas

Dig the bed and add compost 1 week before sowing
Put up supports for the vines 1 week after sowing
Water regularly at sowing every week
Weed gently by hand 3 weeks after sowing every 2 weeks
Tie in the shoots 4 weeks after sowing every 2 weeks
Pick pods regularly at first harvest every week
Pull out finished vines and dig in the roots 4 weeks after first harvest

How members grow snap peas

Sunniness

Planted from

Harvested for

Varieties of snap pea

Amish snap pea

Pisum sativum

Plant snap peas with

turnip

coriander

oat orange tangerine

french breakfast radish

red d'anjou pear

Photos

Snap pea plantings

20260225_142400

by Johann7 2026-02-25 0

20260225_142356

by Johann7 2026-02-25 0

More photos

Video

Where snap peas grow

Only plantings by members who have set their locations are shown.

What people are saying about snap peas

Growing Status

by black_hound,

I have been concerned about my pea planting because we had some unseasonably cold weather after I planted them. But I see a few sprouts from the Cascadia and Mammoth Melting snap peas. The Green Arrow shelling peas have no sprouts so I replanted them today.

[Tu…

snap peas turnips radishes beets

Who's planted snap peas

Johann7 Bed - Middle · Shorewood, WI
milki SFG 4x4 · San Francisco Bay Area
pazinjanka Backyard garden · Almere, Netherlands
dougjanzen Bulge Planter Box NE
linuxstumbler 4x12 Raised Bed · Maine, USA

Snap Pea