How to Grow Mangetouts UK

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. Mangetout (Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon)
  2. Regional Planting Calendar
  3. Quick Facts
  4. At a Glance
  5. Growth Stages
  6. Harvest & Storage
  7. Diseases
  8. Pests
  9. Mangetout & Sugar Snap Pea Photo Gallery
  10. Plan your Mangetouts planting
  11. Growing Mangetout in another region
  12. References
  13. Frequently Asked Questions

In the UK, mangetouts go in the ground early March to mid April.

Timing is the decision that matters most in the UK: sowing early March, and that same window applies across all 4 regions covered here.

The short answer

Plant
Early March to mid April
Biggest risk
Grey mould

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

Mangetout (Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon)

A field row of flowering mangetout pea plants — “Pisum sativum subsp sativum var macrocarpon” by Zenon Sych is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

2 sources cited · Verified

Regional Planting Calendar

Region Sow
Southern England derived early March to mid April
Midlands derived early March to mid April
Northern England derived early March to mid April
Scotland derived early March to mid April

Rows marked derived are interpolated between regions our sources do state, because no source we consulted gives a figure for that region specifically. They are deliberately wider to reflect that uncertainty.

Southern England - detail & sources

RHS gives hardiness (H2, 1-5°C min) and a 1-year time to maturity but no explicit UK sowing month; NC State Extension confirms this is a cool-weather spring crop planted while temperatures are still cool. This March-mid-April window is derived from those facts and follows the same cool-season spring-sowing pattern already used for the shelling pea (Pisum sativum) elsewhere in this catalogue.

Midlands - detail & sources

RHS gives hardiness (H2, 1-5°C min) and a 1-year time to maturity but no explicit UK sowing month; NC State Extension confirms this is a cool-weather spring crop planted while temperatures are still cool. This March-mid-April window is derived from those facts and follows the same cool-season spring-sowing pattern already used for the shelling pea (Pisum sativum) elsewhere in this catalogue.

Northern England - detail & sources

RHS gives hardiness (H2, 1-5°C min) and a 1-year time to maturity but no explicit UK sowing month; NC State Extension confirms this is a cool-weather spring crop planted while temperatures are still cool. This March-mid-April window is derived from those facts and follows the same cool-season spring-sowing pattern already used for the shelling pea (Pisum sativum) elsewhere in this catalogue.

Scotland - detail & sources

RHS gives hardiness (H2, 1-5°C min) and a 1-year time to maturity but no explicit UK sowing month; NC State Extension confirms this is a cool-weather spring crop planted while temperatures are still cool. This March-mid-April window is derived from those facts and follows the same cool-season spring-sowing pattern already used for the shelling pea (Pisum sativum) elsewhere in this catalogue.

A page from the UK Vegetable Garden Planner PDF: the crop rotation planner, with a planning grid and four-bed rotation tips

Plan your mangetouts — and the rest of the plot

This page covers mangetouts. For every crop's sowing months on one chart, use the free UK vegetable planting calendar, and browse the UK vegetable growing guides for what else to grow alongside it. When you want the whole season on paper, the UK Vegetable Garden Planner is a printable PDF:

  • Twelve month-by-month sowing and harvest spreads
  • Raised bed, allotment and container layout pages for your own plot
  • A four-year crop rotation planner
  • Seed inventory, sowing log and harvest tracker
See inside the UK Vegetable Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · reprint every season

Quick Facts

A field row of flowering mangetout pea plants
A field row of flowering mangetout pea plants. Photo by Zenon Sych, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Factor Value
Soil texture Chalk, clay, loam or sand (RHS)
Drainage Moist but well-drained (RHS)
Lifecycle Annual, climbing by tendrils, deciduous foliage (RHS).
Edible parts pods, seeds

At a Glance

Close-up of a purple and magenta mangetout pea flower
Close-up of a purple and magenta mangetout pea flower. Photo: “Pisum sativum1” by Smartbyte, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Pisum sativum var. macr… Mangetout Grey mould Powdery mildew Foot and root rot (gene… Downy mildew (general) Fusarium wilt (pea) Aphids Pea moth Pea and bean weevil Thrips Pigeons Snails Slugs Mice DISEASES PESTS

Growth Stages

A young mangetout pea seedling in soil
A young mangetout pea seedling in soil. Photo by Salicyna, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Stage BBCH Notes
Sowing and establishment 0 Propagate by seed (RHS); germinates best at around 70°F/21°C (NC State Extension). NC State recommends planting in early spring (around February in North Carolina) while the weather is still cool.
Vegetative growth 3 A climbing annual reaching 1-1.5m, using tendrils to climb; needs full sun and a moist but well-drained soil (RHS). A cool-weather crop that dislikes summer heat (NC State Extension).
Flowering 6 White, pink or mauve butterfly-shaped flowers (RHS).
Fruiting and harvest 8 Mangetout pods are picked flat, before the peas swell; sugar snap pods are picked once the peas have filled the pod but it is still tender -- both types come from the same plant/variety, just picked at different points (RHS; NC State Extension).

Harvest & Storage

A pile of harvested flat mangetout pods
A pile of harvested flat mangetout pods. Photo: “Starr 070730-7867 Pisum sativum var. macrocarpum” by Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0.

When to pick: Mangetout: pick while pods are still flat, before the peas inside swell. Sugar snap: pick once the pod has filled out and the peas are plump but the pod wall is still tender and crisp, not tough or fibrous (RHS; NC State Extension). Both the pod and the peas inside are eaten whole for both types.

Diseases

A row of mangetout plants supported by canes
A row of mangetout plants supported by canes. Photo: “Starr 080914-9941 Pisum sativum var. macrocarpum” by Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0.
Fuzzy grey-brown Botrytis mould covering a tomato stem — Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0
Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0
Grey mould
low

Botrytis cinerea

Soft brown fruit decay; Fuzzy grey-brown mould

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page ("grey mould", no severity given).

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page ("powdery mildews", no specific species or severity given).

Foot and root rot (general)
low

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page ("foot and root rot", no severity given).

Downy mildew (general)
low

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page ("downy mildews", no specific species or severity given).

Fusarium wilt (pea)
moderate

Fusarium sp.

RHS names Fusarium wilt among this crop's diseases without specifying the forma specialis, so recorded here as Fusarium sp. rather than inventing a specific one.

Pests

Mangetout pods hanging on the vine
Mangetout pods hanging on the vine. Photo by Zenon Sych, CC BY-SA 4.0.
low

Aphididae (various spp.)

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page (no severity grading given).

Pea moth
moderate

Cydia nigricana

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page as one of the main pests (no severity grading given).

Pea and bean weevil
low

Sitona lineatus

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page (no severity grading given).

Thrips
low

Thysanoptera

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page (no severity grading given).

Pigeons
moderate

Columbidae (family)

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page; pigeons are a well-known real threat to pea foliage and pods.

Snails
low

Gastropoda (snails, various spp.)

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page (no severity grading given).

Slugs
moderate

Gastropoda (slugs, various spp.)

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page; slugs are a genuine, well-documented threat to young pea seedlings.

Mice
moderate

Muridae (mice, various spp.)

RHS names mice specifically as a threat to newly-sown pea seed.

Plan your Mangetouts planting

When to sow and plant Mangetouts depends on your own frost dates. Check the UK vegetable planting calendar. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

Growing Mangetout in another region

Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

References

  1. Cool-weather spring crop, germinates best around 70°F, planted around February in NC. Snow peas: flat pods, crisp, eaten as pod only. Sugar snap peas: notably larger pods than snow peas, both pod and pea eaten. Confirms the two are grown and treated the same way, differing mainly in pod type/harvest stage.

  2. Annual climber, deciduous. Hardiness H2 (1-5°C min). Soil: chalk/clay/loam/sand, moist but well-drained, acid/alkaline/neutral. Full sun. Height 1-1.5m, spread 0.5-1m, 1yr to maturity. Propagate by seed. Pests: pea moth, aphids, pea and bean weevil, thrips, pigeons, slugs, snails, mice (newly-sown seed). Diseases: powdery mildews, downy mildews, foot and root rot, Fusarium wilt, grey mould, pea leaf and pod spot, virus diseases. Native to SW Asia/NE Africa, not GB/Ireland. Edible: green pods and peas. White/pink/mauve flowers. Description explicitly covers both mangetout (flattened pods) and sugar snap (thick fleshy pods) types as the same variety.

2 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I sow mangetouts in the UK?

In Southern England, from early March. In Scotland, wait until early March. Treat these as a guide rather than a fixed date — the governing rule is to sow only once frost risk has passed and temperatures are reliably warm enough.

When do I sow mangetouts?

Sow early March to mid April.

What problems affect mangetouts?

Our data links 5 diseases and 8 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.

Plan next season before the problems start

Most of the advice on this page comes down to timing and spacing — sowing at the right moment, rotating beds, and giving plants enough airflow. The UK Garden Planner lays your plot out month by month so those decisions are already made before the season starts.

Get the UK Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · Written for UK growing conditions

SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against RHS and Met Office guidance. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

Vegetable Growing Guides UK

Crops With the Same Problems

Related Problem Guides

Last verified 2026-09-03

Plan Mangetouts by month

The months this guide gives for sowing or planting, each with the full list of jobs for that month in the UK:

More from the same group (peas & beans):

Relevant next steps

Where To Go From Here

Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.

UK garden plannerTurn this crop guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and a harvest record. All growing guidesBrowse every crop we cover for your region, A to Z. Planting CalendarSee how this crop fits alongside everything else you are growing.

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