Charles is a rich source of advice on the best crops to sow now that will quickly and continually give us lovely stuff to eat. His number-one recommendation – for a plot of any size – are pea shoots. With the crunchiness of a lettuce stem and the sweet flavour of a pea, these have become fashionable for sprinkling over a salad, or as a key, genius ingredient to a pea and ham pasta or primavera risotto. For these, you don’t want to cook the pea tips and lose their water-filled crunch, but add them as the plates go to the table.