PlantFiles: Snap Pea, Edible-podded Pea
Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon 'Sugar Snap'

I am a mere first time gardener and these have done beautifully even with my inexperienced hand. Just yesterday I picked a bunch of pods which were crisp, tender and sweet enough to eat raw. In fact, despite my best intentions, none of them ended up in the dish they were planned for... eaten out of hand instead.

These are such an easy veggie to grow. Just provide them with a trellis, some organic matter in the soil, and water and they just zoom right up even in chilly weather (which they prefer). We grow them in late fall and winter down here in Florida and they produce wonderfully. They provide their own nitrogen with nitrogen fixing bacteria like all legumes so don't worry about feeding them with a fertilizer containing nitrogen. I got 5 huge crops from my pea vines before high winds blew them over and I had to remove them. The dead vines are wonderful fertilizer if you turn them under the soil...they release lots of nitrogen. They also make good organic mulch dried.

This is the original snap pea and still the best one that I have grown. Holds for a long time before becoming tough and fibrous. (70 day) Its only disadvantage is the humongous vines. Trellis is an absolute necessity. Introduced in 1979 by Novartis/Gallatin Valley.

Sugar snap peas are one of my favorite vegetables to grow. Indeterminate, these will grow and grow and grow until you pinch off the tops to encourage fruit production.

I usually let them get about 6 feet tall before pinching. Make sure that they have good support, backing them up against some lattice, or putting a cage around them.

The pods get fairly fat and about 4 inches in length. They are intended to be eaten whole-pod. Just trip the ends off and you're ready to eat. I think they are delicious both uncooked and cooked.