Crop type: Peas
Pisum sativum ‘Delikett’
Common name: Sugarsnap pea ‘Delikett’
Crop slug: peas
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile and its linked crop guidance. Check the sources and adjust cultivation decisions for local conditions.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
‘Delikett’ is an AGM compact sugarsnap pea with fleshy, sweet, green edible pods. The young pods are stringless; as they mature they become fleshier and sweeter, but also stringier. Pods are about 8cm long, 1.3cm wide and 0.8cm thick, and can be picked over a long season. They may be eaten whole while young or allowed to mature for shelling.
The parent crop guide describes it as a dwarf of about 60cm, making it suitable for modest supports and large containers.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 0.6–1.5 metres; around 60cm in compact crops
- Ultimate spread
- 0.5–1 metre
- Time to maturity
- one growing season
- Pod size
- about 8cm long, 1.3cm wide and 0.8cm thick
Space seed about 7cm apart and provide twiggy support. Container plants need at least 45cm width and consistent watering.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Chalk, clay, loam or sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well drained
- Preferred pH
- Acid, alkaline or neutral; preferably near neutral
Use humus-rich, moisture-retentive ground that drains freely. Even moisture keeps the edible pods crisp during their long harvest.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun
- Aspect
- East-, south- or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H2
Sow once soil warms in early spring and continue to early summer. Compact growth still benefits from shelter and low support.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
Green climbing stems carry rounded glaucous leaflets, curling tendrils and white flowers. The pods are bright to medium green, distinctly rounded and fleshy rather than flat like mangetout, with gentle pea swell as they mature.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Compact climbing
- Name status
- Accepted
Genus
Pisum is a small genus of annual legumes. Tendril-bearing hollow stems support compound leaves, butterfly-shaped flowers and edible pods.
Safety
Young shoots, pods and peas are edible. Do not eat chemically treated sowing seed.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Sow 5cm deep from early spring to early summer, around 7cm apart in a double row within a 15cm-wide flat-bottomed drill. Add twiggy sticks or netting and protect seed and seedlings from mice, pigeons, slugs and snails.
Water when flowering and again two weeks later. Pick young rounded pods regularly while stringless for whole-pod use. Older pods become sweeter and fleshier but develop strings; leave selected pods to fill if shelling peas are wanted.
Propagation
Propagate by seed, directly or in deep modules.
Suggested locations
- Compact vegetable plot
- Large container
- Cottage or informal garden
- Supported raised bed
- Successional sugarsnap row
Pruning
No pruning is required. Frequent picking sustains the long crop.
Pests
May be susceptible to pea moth, aphids, pea and bean weevil, thrips, pigeons, slugs, snails and mice. Protect vulnerable stages.
Diseases
May be susceptible to powdery and downy mildews, foot and root rot, Fusarium wilt, grey mould, leaf and pod spot and viruses. Rotate and maintain airflow.