Pea: Sugarsnap
This is an unusually tall variety of sugar snap pea, so will need support, but you’ll be rewarded with high yields of sweet and tasty pods that stay tender and stringless all through the season.
Grown by Wales Seed Hub member Carolyn Moody on her One Planet smallholding in Pontyates.
Approx 100 seeds per pack.
Seed Story: I always grow ‘snap’ peas, rather than ‘shelling’ peas. The pods are fleshy and juicy, and just as tasty as the peas themselves, so you get double the crop and none of the waste! This is a tall variety, so will need support, but you’ll be rewarded with high yields of sweet and tasty pods that stay tender and stringless all through the season. They have a long cropping period, which can be extended with frequent picking. Great chopped up in summer salads with some feta and red onion, or stir fried super quick to preserve their crisp, juiciness.
Pea: Mr Bethell’s Purple Podded
A vigorous, tall pea producing pink and maroon flowers followed by large purple pods. Can be picked young as mangetout or left to mature when peas taste deliciously sweet straight from the pod, retaining their flavour when cooked.
Grown by Wales Seed Hub member Chris Vernon on his One Planet smallholding in South Wales.
Approx 60 seeds per pack.
Pea: Gladstone
Late crop pea, variety bred and introduced in 1895. Known to be hardy and reliable.
Grown using agroecological principles by Wales Seed Hub member Peni on her One Planet smallholding in Carmarthenshire.
Approx 70 seeds
Pea: Llanover
Vigorous variety producing fat pods of large peas, which are sweet and delicious. Grows to around 1.5m tall and needs strong supports.
A Welsh variety from the Heritage Stewarded by Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library, and grown by Wales Seed Hub member Sue Stickland in Mid Wales.
Approx 60 seeds per pack.
Seed Story: An exceptionally good Welsh heritage variety with a romantic story behind it. At the end of the First World War, a German prisoner of war returned to the Llanover Estate to marry a Welsh girl and brought the seeds with him. Not surprisingly, gardeners have kept them in cultivation ever since. Its vigorous plants produce plentiful plump pods of unusually large peas, which are sweet and delicious. They grow to about 1.5m tall and need strong
supports.
Pea: Telephone
Not available 2024, sorry!
Growing up to 2m high, with support, this pea is great for small gardens or when you don’t want the whole lot to be eaten by the kids! Pods are large giving a good yield of tender sweet peas that can be picked over a long period.
Grown by Wales Seed Hub member Carolyn Moody on her One Planet smallholding in Pontyates.
Approx 120 seeds per pack.
Why not save your own seeds!? All our seeds are open pollinated, non-hybrid varieties.
See our seed saving guidelines here: Save Your Own Seeds
Growing instructions – Peas
In terms of sowing, peas come in two main types, smooth and wrinkled (this refers to the shape of the dried pea, so it’s quite easy to tell the difference). Smooth types are hardier, so are better if you want to do a really early sowing. Wrinkled tend to be sweeter, but you’ll need to wait till the weather gets a bit warmer before you sow, or they’ll probably just rot. Peas can also vary in height, from around 18” to nearly 8ft tall!
For wrinkled types, sow them in modules in early spring with some seed compost and if there are mice around, cover them up before they germinate, as rodents love the seeds. Harden off the young seedlings, then plant them out about 3” apart when they’re about 6” tall.
You can sow them outdoors instead if you like, but you’ll need to wait until the soil warms up, and it’s not too wet, or the seed won’t germinate and will rot. There’s also a high risk of rodents eating them, so if you’re able too, sowing indoors is probably going to be more successful. Either way, dig in plenty of organic matter initially, and water regularly throughout the season.
Tall peas will need support, such as pea netting, chicken wire or canes to scramble up, and make sure it’s sturdy, as they can get quite heavy towards the middle of the season – they may even need tying in if they get a bit unruly. For shorter varieties, but just some twiggy sticks should be fine.
For an ongoing crop throughout the season, you can sow successionally, but if you pick the pods regularly the plants will keep producing.
Seed grown using agroecological principles. We are licenced to sell seed and issue plant passports. Reg number: 7710.