How to Grow Mangetouts USA

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. Quick Facts
  3. At a Glance
  4. Diseases
  5. Pests
  6. Growth Stages
  7. Harvest & Storage
  8. Plan your Mangetouts planting
  9. Growing Mangetout in another region
  10. Sources
  11. Frequently Asked Questions

Mangetouts (Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon) — Annual, climbing by tendrils, deciduous foliage (RHS).

This crop carries an unusually heavy problem load: 5 diseases and 8 pests are documented for it, so most of the effort in growing it well goes into prevention.

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

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

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.

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/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.

Plan your Mangetouts planting

When to sow and plant Mangetouts depends on your own frost dates. Check the USA 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.

Sources

  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.

These source is specific to this region. The full list of 2 sources behind this guide (NC State University Extension (Homegrown), Royal Horticultural Society) is in the references of our UK guide to mangetouts; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Almost everything on this page resolves to your own frost dates rather than the calendar — the last spring frost moves by roughly two months between zone 3 and zone 10. The USA Garden Planner works from your zone so the timing is already decided before the season starts.

Get the USA Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · Written for US 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 USDA hardiness-zone and frost-date data, with Cooperative Extension sources cited directly where one exists for a crop. 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 USA

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Last verified 2026-09-03

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