The Star: October 21, 2021

SWEET PEAS would have
to be one of my favourite
plants to have in the
garden.
They are super simple to
grow. They smell fantastic
– if you plant the scented
variety. They look amazing.
And they make great
cut flowers. In my opinion,
you really can’t go wrong by
planting sweet peas.
This lovely addition to
your garden can be grown
from seeds. However, I
prefer to plant seedlings.
The dwarf mixed variety
produces plants that grow
to about 30-40cm and is
perfect for growing in borders,
bedding and pots.
The fragrant beauty
variety has a fantastic
fragrance, grows to around
120-180cm and climbs or
trails well on walls or trellises.
And while all varieties
make great cut flowers, cut
flower mixed varieties grow
to a height of around 120-
180cm and produce extra
good blooms perfect for
taking inside and placing in
a vase.
You will need to find a
place to plant. Sweet peas
grow well in pots – particularly
the dwarf variety
which don’t require staking
and will cascade over the
edge nicely.
The other two varieties
will also grow well in large
pots. You’ll just need to tie
four or five bamboo stakes
GARDENING
Enjoy the sweet
smell of sweet peas
• By Henri Ham
AROMA: Fragrant
beauty sweet peas
can be grown in the
garden or in pots,
it has a fantastic
fragrance.
into a tee-pee shape to
support the plants as they
grow. And make sure you
plant them in some good
quality potting mix to really
help them along their way.
If you’re growing in the
garden, all you need is a
sunny, well-drained spot
next to a wall or some sort
of support structure. Simply
add some netting, wire
or light wooded frame for
the flowers to climb up.
Plant the seedlings about
20cm apart from each
other. And don’t hold back.
The more you plant, the
more colour you’ll add
to your garden and the
more flowers you’ll have
for brightening up and
creating fragrance in your
home. You can expect to
your sweet peas to flower
in around 10 to 12 weeks
from planting.
Remember to water, but
avoid over-head watering
to prevent them getting
powdery mildew. And, because
they’re annual plants,
pick off the flowers once
they’re spent, and remove
the whole plant when it’s
stopped flowering.
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• By Chris Barclay
IT’LL INVOLVE many
twists and turns, but
would-be MotoGP stars
will at least look the part
when they embark on
the path to greatness at
Ruapuna.
Motorcycle Canterbury
has purchased three Kayo
MiniGP MR150s, pintsized
replicas of MotoGP
machines, for budding
Christchurch riders to
hone their skills at the
circuit.
While discovering a
rider to emulate the legendary
Valentino Rossi is
a stretch, the bikes should
at least boost the number
of junior members – aged
seven to 13-years-old – at
the club.
“You can probably count
the juniors on two hands
really. That’s something
the club wants to grow so
that’s why the Kayo’s have
been looked at,” Motorcycling
Canterbury committee
member Duncan
Shanks said.
“They’ve been introduced
to try and get the
younger kids on board.
The stars and people they
look up to started out like
this.
“It’s exciting because
junior riders can really get
the bug to ride on a race
track, then follow through
the training schedules, go
on the bigger bikes, become
great riders and then represent
New Zealand on the
world stage,” Shanks said.
“That’s the whole hope
of this, that we attract
more riders, uncover some
great talent and go from
there.”
Thursday October 21 2021 The Star
SPORT 25
FINE TUNING: Bede Cordes (left) steadies the Kayo MiniGP bike,
Motorcycling Canterbury rider trainer Shannon Guthrie explains how the
clutch works to Cordes’ son Ben, 9, while Lucas Guthrie, 11, (right) looks on
at Ruapuna.
Getting young riders
into MotoGP aim
of small replica bikes
The bikes succeed
outdated “old school” 50cc
and 150cc Suzukis and an
Aprilia.
About 20 of the Chinese-made
MiniGP 150s,
which cost around $4000,
were imported about a
month ago by Dunedinbased
RaceSupplies.
The bikes can reach
100km/h but speed limits
will be enforced by club
members and officials,
with Shanks confident the
juniors are in safe hands.
“The bikes have 12-inch
wheels, they’ve got really
good, grippy well-sized
tyres. That makes it quite
safe because there’s loads
of grip,” he said.
•For more information
on hiring the Kayo
MiniGP bikes, the
club’s website is mci.
net.nz
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EASY RIDER: Hunter Charlett, 11, gets to grips with a Kayo MiniGP bike
among senior racers for the first time during a Motorcycling Canterbury
race at Ruapuna on Sunday.
PHOTOS: JOHN COSGROVE