How to Grow Mammoth Melting Sugar
Pisum sativum var. saccharatum 'Mammoth Melting Sugar'
Mammoth Melting Sugar is a beloved heirloom garden pea known for its tender, sweet pods that melt in your mouth. Gardeners prize this variety for its reliable production of high-quality sugar snap peas during the cool growing season.
📷 Wikipedia: PeaStarting Mammoth Melting Sugar: indoors or direct sow?
🌾 Sow directly in the garden — Mammoth Melting Sugar is not usually started indoors.
Direct sow seeds outdoors rather than starting indoors, planting them two to six weeks before the last frost date.
Soil, care & harvest
Prepare loose soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.5 to ensure healthy root development. Sow seeds directly outdoors two to six weeks before your last spring frost date, as this is a cool-season crop. Plant them about one inch deep; they typically germinate within seven to fourteen days once conditions are right.
Space seeds three to four inches apart in rows that are eighteen inches wide. Install trellises early since these plants grow tall and need support as their vines extend upward. Provide consistent moisture, aiming for one to one-and-a-half inches of water weekly, and apply mulch to retain soil temperature and conserve moisture.
Watch for aphids, pea moths, thrips, and slugs; use row covers or hand-picking to manage them. Prevent powdery mildew by ensuring good airflow and avoiding overhead watering in humid weather. Harvest pods seventy to eighty days after sowing when they are plump but still crisp.
When to Plant Mammoth Melting Sugar
Planting windows vary by USDA hardiness zone. Look up yours by ZIP code.
| Zone | Start Indoors | Direct Sow | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 | — | June – July | August – September |
| Zone 2 | — | May – July | August – September |
| Zone 3 | — | May – June | July – October |
| Zone 4 | — | April – June | July – October |
| Zone 5 | — | April – May | June – November |
| Zone 6 | — | April – May | June – November |
| Zone 7 | — | March – May | June – November |
| Zone 8 | — | March – April | May – December |
| Zone 9 | — | February – March | April – December |
| Zone 10 | — | January – March | April – December |
| Zone 11 | — | January – February | March – December |
| Zone 12 | — | January – February | March – December |
| Zone 13 | — | January – February | March – December |
Companion Plants for Mammoth Melting Sugar
✓ Good companions
Peas improve soil nitrogen for carrots, while carrots don't compete for space above ground
Repel aphids and improve pea growth through natural pest deterrence
Benefits from nitrogen fixed by peas and provides living mulch to keep soil cool
Repel aphids and other pests that commonly attack pea plants
Deters ants and aphids while attracting beneficial insects
Act as trap crops for aphids and cucumber beetles while attracting beneficial predators
Radishes break up soil for pea roots and mature quickly before peas need full space
Thrives in nitrogen-rich soil created by peas and has similar growing conditions
✗ Keep away from
May stunt pea growth and interfere with beneficial rhizobia bacteria
Competes heavily for nutrients and can harbor thrips that damage pea pods
Can inhibit pea growth and nitrogen fixation through root competition
Nutrition Facts
Per 100g serving (USDA FoodData Central)
