Amateur Gardening – 29 June 2019

Gardening’s king of trivia and brain-teasers, Graham Clarke

HERE are three wonderful heirloom

pea varieties, each with a rich history

and pedigree. Even better, they

have all received the Award of

Garden Merit from the RHS.

‘Kelvedon Wonder’ (pictured):

a first early dwarf variety and a

very heavy cropper producing well-

filled pods of fine flavour. It can be

used for successional sowings through

the summer. H: 18in (45cm).

‘Early Onward’: a second early variety of vigorous growth

producing a heavy crop of tasty sweet peas. H: 30in (75cm).

‘Onward’: The most popular early maincrop variety, a heavy

cropper of large pods, often in pairs. Fine flavour. H: 3ft (90cm).

5

garden peas that

look a little... diff erent

Purple fl owers and pods –

pea ‘Blauwschokker’

Two-tone pink fl owers and blushed

pods – sugarsnap pea ‘Spring Blush’

Lemon-yellow pods –

sugarsnap pea ‘Opal Creek’

Burgundy pods – mangetout

pea ‘Shiraz’

MUSHY peas is a dish comprising dried

marrowfat peas soaked overnight in

water, then rinsed and simmered with a

little sugar and salt until they form a thick

green mush. Marrowfat peas are green

peas that have been allowed to mature

and partly dry out before harvesting.

Many that are grown to a good green

colour are exported to the Middle East

and Japan for the ‘wasabi’ snack food

market, while paler peas are sent for

canning. ‘Maro’ and ‘Onward’ peas can

be grown on for making mushy peas.

Labour peer Peter Mandelson was

once offered mushy peas in a fish and

chip shop in Hartlepool, Co Durham, and

mistook it for the much more middle class

(at the time) ‘guacamole’ avocado dip.

Mushy peas

Three top heirloom peas

Garden peas, please!

You can’t beat the taste of peas when eaten straight from the pod

This

week

it’s:

All photographs Alamy/Wikicommons/TI Media unless otherwise credited

FROM 8-14 July we can bask in the glory

of Great British Pea Week. Launched by

the Yes Peas! campaign ( peas.org) and

the British pea-vining industry,

the celebration is now in its third year.

For many of us, the best moment of

early summer is eating our first young

home-grown peas. So tender and

sweet, they can be eaten straight from

the pod. So let’s take a timely look at

this great vegetable.

In 2005, a survey of 2,000 people

(conducted by Dolmio Foods) found that

the garden pea was the UK’s seventh

most popular vegetable, after garlic

and before spinach!

Suttons

Fresh peas are tender and sweet

Purple blooms and yellow pods –

mangetout pea ‘Golden Sweet’

THE familiar mangetout (French for ‘eat

all’) name applies to ‘snow peas’ and

‘sugar-snap peas’. The whole pods

are eaten before they are fully ripe.

Unlike garden peas, mangetout

lack the inedible fibre layer on the

inside walls of the pods. Snow peas

can be grown in open fields during

winter, hence the name.

The garden pea variety ‘Twinkle’

(pictured) is grown not so much for its peas

as for its leaves and shoots. Described as ‘tasty and nutritious’,

the shoots and leaves have a crunchy texture and pea-like

flavour. Pick in as little as three weeks from sowing and allow

to reshoot for a second cutting a few weeks later.

Eat all, even the leaves

pea varieties, each with a rich history

used for successional sowings through

Three top heirloompeas

THE

all’) name applies to ‘snow peas’ and

‘sugar-snap peas’. The whole pods

are eaten before they are fully ripe.

Unlike garden peas, mangetout

lack the inedible fibre layer on the

inside walls of the pods. Snow peas

can be grown in open fields during

winter, hence the name.

(pictured) is grown not so much for its peas

Eat all, even the leaves

familiar mangetout (French for ‘eat

(pictured) is grown not so much for its peas

Marshalls

Suttons

Marshalls

Suttons

Mushy peas – made from marrowfat peas

T&M

29 JUNE 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 45