A pink-and-blue flowered, yellow podded, tasty mangetout pea? It must be ‘Goldensweet’. This ‘Goldensweet’ mangetout is a real favourite of mine. I bought the packet a few years ago, and have been eking it out ever since. Now I’ve finally reached the end, but I will always grow this variety of pea. Why do I love this yellow-podded mangetout so much? Well, let’s begin at the beginning. This is the flower of the yellow-podded ‘Goldensweet’ mangetout. It is light pink and cerise and is utterly beautiful. It is like one of the very old sweet peas, maybe ‘Cupani’, or something like that. Then this happens: The pink fades to bright blue, an almost unnatural colour. And then: Out of the blue petals come bright yellow pods. Truly, this pea is worth growing just for the ornamental value. It is the best thing about my vegetable patch. But it is also the best thing about my kitchen table as the pods are so tasty and so sweet and so crunchy and juicy and not at all chewy or stringy. This is the best mangetout you can possibly grow. Oh, and the bonus is that this is a heirloom variety, which means that it isn’t a hybrid and therefore breeds true from seed. And this means that though my seed packet has run out, I can save the contents of some of the pods that are growing on my plants this year, and use them next year, so that I need never run out of this stunning pea. Share this:Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)MoreClick to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) 4 Responses Non Morris July 1, 2015 Very very beautiful yellow mange tout photographs - wonderful inspiring post, thank you, Non Morris http://www.thedahliapers.com Reply Mammasaurus July 9, 2015 Beautiful to look at growing and tasty to eat? Win win! Almost like the reverse of caterpillar to butterfly (only with a nicer ending!) Apologies for the reply in visiting, I’ve been under the weather with bronchitis and not online so much this week. Thank you for joining in lovely x Reply chickenruby July 11, 2015 gorgeous flowers and photographs Reply Jackie F July 13, 2015 I also grow and love these Golden Sweet mange tout. Someone told me that they are a very old variety and were used by Mendel in his science experiments because they grew so fast and were so productive that he could cut his time down in the lab considerably! I would also add that they are best picked before any pea shapes show in the pod as they can become slightly bitter. (Green mange tout are more forgiving.) Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply
Non Morris July 1, 2015 Very very beautiful yellow mange tout photographs - wonderful inspiring post, thank you, Non Morris http://www.thedahliapers.com Reply
Mammasaurus July 9, 2015 Beautiful to look at growing and tasty to eat? Win win! Almost like the reverse of caterpillar to butterfly (only with a nicer ending!) Apologies for the reply in visiting, I’ve been under the weather with bronchitis and not online so much this week. Thank you for joining in lovely x Reply
Jackie F July 13, 2015 I also grow and love these Golden Sweet mange tout. Someone told me that they are a very old variety and were used by Mendel in his science experiments because they grew so fast and were so productive that he could cut his time down in the lab considerably! I would also add that they are best picked before any pea shapes show in the pod as they can become slightly bitter. (Green mange tout are more forgiving.) Reply
