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A low-growing ground cover plant with gorgeous maroon flowers a bit like sweet-peas. These are followed by a prolific crop of unusual winged pods which should be picked young at about 2.5cm long and eaten whole: they have a delicate flavour similar to asparagus. Allow plants to scramble prettily over the edges of your veg beds or support with twiggy pea sticks.

• Growing Instructions:Sow direct outside under cloches from late spring into a sunny spot with free-draining soil, spacing seeds 5cm apart in shallow drills about 1.5cm deep. Cover seedlings with netting in the early stages to protect from birds and protect from slugs. To cook, just top and tail the pods and steam or lightly boil. Pick regularly to ensure continuous cropping. Large pods tend to become stringy and fibrous.