Time, abundant sunlight and a weight-worthy trellis have paid off in a sugar-snap pea harvest that dwarfs all previous attempts. But the season is fleeting - today the temperature hovers in the high 80s and the plants' ending leaves are curled and withered against the onslaught.

Meanwhile the girls - 13 and 9 - can often be found snacking on them in the garden. They have an idea that sugar snaps are nutritious (a very good source of vitamins A, C, K and thiamin, folate, iron and manganese), but they eat them because they are delicious.