some I sowed earlier...

Root trainers is a proprietry brand module system that encourages good downward root growth.  The sides are grooved and there is a hole at the bottom so you can see how far downward growth has progressed.  Also, when the roots reach the bottom and go through the hole, they are 'air pruned', ie they stop growing in the drier environment, and this encourages secondary roots, making the plant stronger for planting out. The cells open like a book and you ease out the whole package into the planting hole. Look at the lovely root system on my first batch of peas!

I love my peasticks too.  They came from a Surrey coppicer last spring, together with some birch bean poles. Once planted they got a light sprinkling of organic slug pellets.  I don't think any slugs have overwintered (not even found any in the compost bin) but the eggs will be hatching and its too cold just yet to be putting out nemaslug, an effective biological control.

Root trainers are quite expensive, but you can easily re-use them lots of times if you are careful.  In addition, they are made of recycled plastic.  Many people say cardboard toilet roll is a good alternative.  However, you do not know what chemicals were in the pulp or what glue has been used.  In addition, you don't get the air pruning effect as the rolls and compost have to sit with their bottoms in a damp tray.  Lastly, the cardboard is prone to going mouldy.

The right kind of quality sticks, compost and tools really are more exciting than new shoes.

Sweet peas

The scent of sweet peas is spicy and exotic - really heady, especially in the evening. The colour and texture of the petals is like oriental silk. Sweet peas hide under a reputation of belonging to Victorian ladies, but they're a full-on sensual treat.These are from a mixed packet by Thompson and Morgan called 'Elegant Ladies - highly fragrant heirlooms'. Half the plants look to be 'Matucana': bi-coloured flowers with blueish-purple wing petals and reddish-purple flags or standards (the two petals that stand up at the back of the flower).This variety is
particularly fragrant and free-flowering. It's thought to be an old one, close to the species, that was somehow naturalised in Peru (Matucana is a town there) and brought back by a Jesuit monk to Europe. Lathyrus odoratus originates in Italy, including Sicily.

There are many sweet pea cultivars with frilly edges, for instance, in a range of gorgeous colours (whites, pinks, blues, purples). My white ones are in a separate vase - they have a simple elegance that is entrancing.

Growing. Without a green house or a decent coldframe I can't sow sweet peas in October to get early blooms. I sow mine in April indoors and plant out mid-May. If you soak the seeds overnight, they don't take long to germinate. The seedlings get tall and floppy so I put them out, even though it seems to check their growth for a couple of weeks. This year I had some pea-sticks from a Surrey coppicer and placed these against a wigwam of canes. I also put in some climbing French beans which will have lilac flowers. Anyway, they were flowering by mid-summer's eve, which is good enough. They are half way up the wigwam and I am cutting regularly to keep more flowers coming. Once the flowers set seed the plant stops making new flowers. I hope to show you the wigwam in full glory next month.