Caring for sweet peas
■ Sweet peas climb with their tendrils and are easy to support on 5-6ft (1.5-1.8m) tall wigwams of canes or twiggy sticks.
■ Beforehand, make sure an area 3ft (1m) in diameter is deeply dug and conditioned. Ideally, this needs time to settle, but just before planting is better than not at all.
■ Tread puffy soil gently to firm before smoothing the surface. Using a metal pin, make five deep holes around a circle before pushing in supports.
■ Tie the tops together and then set plants about 8in (20cm) apart around the base. Shorter fans of twiggy sticks help the young plants journey upwards.
■ Patrol before every bedtime, checking for slugs and snails.