Snap Peas - Snap peas or sugar snap peas have a sweet flavor and a crunchy texture. You can feel free to eat the whole pod raw. You can also cook these peas, and trust me when I say they are delicious! These are probably my favorite variety to munch on while I'm busy doing daily garden chores. Most of them don't make it into the house. Some snap peas have strings, and I tend to choose the "stringless" variety. The strings can be tough to chew and sometimes have to be removed before eaten.

Favorite Varieties: Sugar Snap pea, Sugar Ann Snap pea, Spring Bush Tendril pea

Snow Peas - Snow peas or Chinese peas are flat and crisp with tiny peas inside. Again, the whole pod can be eaten, but the strings are usually removed first. They have a delicious mild flavor and can be enjoyed raw or cooked. They are the perfect addition to any stir-fry. Even though I am tempted to enjoy them raw from time to time, I usually save them to be whipped up in a tasty summer dish. Make sure to pick these peas before they get plump. I learned this the hard way!

Favorite Varieties: De Grace snow pea, Green Beauty pea, Mammoth Melting Sugar snow pea

Garden Peas - The very first peas I planted were garden peas! Garden peas or English peas have firm and rounded pods. The tasty round peas inside need to be removed from the pods or shelled before eaten. The pods can be discarded and composted. The peas found inside are sweet and can be eaten raw or cooked. You want to make sure you don't allow your peas to grow to big. The flavor tends to change, and they become more starchy. You also want to make sure you cook these fresh or freeze them after picking to get the best flavor.

Favorite Varieties: Little Marvel garden pea, Alaska garden pea, Wando garden pea

- Rookie Mistake - When I first started gardening, I bought a bunch of seed packets containing different varieties of peas. I planted them all together on the same trellis, thinking why not? Well, they all grew and I had no idea what was what. I didn't know which ones were garden peas and which ones were snow peas. If you are planning to grow different varieties to enjoy, plant them separately and label them! This makes life so much easier.