Growing Sweet Peas - Page 8

Hi Carly, I dont have any secret it must be where I planted them ,againt the house blocked from wind by large grasses ,maybe I created a micro climate they like.If I did ,that was truly an accident. Debra

Hi Debra, I have just realised that you are on the other side of this beautiful world so that might make a difference Having said tha,t they have fantastic displays of Morning Glory at the local garden centre so I'll check out the spaces in my garden that might suit best.

I'm pretty new to forums - can we change the subject like this or is it against the rules???

CurlyCarly and debra you can always start a new thread to discuss Morning Glory or anything else you like.

My Sweet peas are growing really nicely and bushing out well. I plan to plant some in the ground in March so overall I get a longer blooming time.

Hi Carly,I am also new to forums , I guess we should keep to sweet peas .I think they might be a challenge to me, our last frost date is april 15. I plan to pot them up in feb in the garage.I hope this is not too early.Thanks Debra

Hi Debra, Good luck with your sweet peas. Here is a link to the RHS website that people might find useful.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Children/For-families/Plants-to-grow-with-kids/Sweet-peas

It seems about my level but pretty straight forward. Happy sowing. Carly

Hi Carly,  Thanks for the link .My level also.I was wondering if I should water from the top or bottom being I am using paper rolls and maybe newspaper rolled up.Thanks Debra

Hi Debra, From what I've read you should just water once before you sow the seeds, that way the seeds won't get washed to the side or too deep down. I have covered mine with some horticultural grit, (I couldn't get hold of any vermiculite) then popped a small, clear plastic freezer bag over the top to keep the moisture in.  I gather it shouldn't be necessary to water again until the seedlings emerge, at which point you remove the polythene bags. I have one lot in the propagator and have had to turn the poly bags inside out and given them a shake a couple of times as they were getting too full of moisture. They need a temperature of 10-20deg centigrade to germinate, Will your garage be warm enough? I've put mine in the window of the spare bedroom. Cheers, Carly (Oh roll on spring )

Hi carly, My garage is heated. I hope that will do,  other seeds I have germinated there came up fine.I will do the same as you have done.Let you know how it turns out. Thanks Debra

Seven out of ten of the Kew Collection King Size Navy Blue sweet peas have germinated in less than a week. They were in the propagator. Am treating them mean now and have put them in our unheated porch. I'll let you know how the rest of them fare. Carly

The sweet peas i sowed, then were eaten down to stumps, i brought in and within 2 weeks had sprouted again to about 2 inches tall with  afew pairs of leaves, so ive put them back in the green house. will keep an eye on them so they dont get eaten

What do you think has been eating them Sinevegas? Could it be mice? It sounds as though they have done the nipping out for you!

Carly

My Sweet Peas look like they are dying. I took them in during the cold -6 weather for a week and half. They looked tatty prior to coming in but now look worse. They have been growing since october should i bin them and start again? They have lost leaves at the bottom and dont look as green anymore.

I despair!  This is what sweet peas look like when you coddle them.

Yes, I would sow more in March.....good luck!

Hi carly,Why dont you try knipping them in half ,leave them in the porch and see what happens before you throw them in the bin. there is nothing to loose  Debra

Hi again I posted a  question on wild flowers, could someone take a look and reply .Sorry Carly, I thought they were your sweet peas ,Maybe they were sown a wee bit early.       Debra

never mind thanks ver the quick and great advice

Today I sowed some sweet peas in the greenhouse

This from the back of the packet-T&M seeds

Soak seeds overnight in warm water before sowing-first question how do you keep the water warm?-and soaking??

1cm deep,3 seeds per pot-good so far- and place in a propagator at 20-25c-that does not sound right?

Do not exclude light-but they are 1Cm deep in dark soil?-sounds a bit tricky

It does go onto say overwinter in a cold frame and spring sowings can be made outside-but some of the above is conflicting information to what is perceived wisdom ?

Any way they will stay in the cold greenhouse-un pre-soaked- then in the coldframe when through.

In the past my sweet pea seedlings germinated really well outside in early winter but like other people here they got munched, turned out to be slugs! I've started some indoors but I'll move them outside as soon as they germinate and be extra vigiliant.

cairnsie- I would probably wait a bit before you just bin them. Have you gently tapped them out and had a look at the root system?  If I'm in any doubt,about any plant, I always have a look at the plants roots. If I think they are good and healthy then  I tend not to chuck away. My advice would be put them outside, and maybe cut some of them back a bit to establish a more bushy growth further down the stems. 

They are live plants that you grew from seed, even if I get one or two plants from sown seed then a job well done as far as I'm concerned

You can always sow in March as well

Hi Sotongeoff,

There are so many contradictions aren't there and fashions for example to soak or not to soak.  I'm starting to think that the best way to learn with gardening things is by trial and error.

I sowed sweet pea seeds a couple of weeks ago. I didn't soak the seeds, made 15 planting tubes out of newspaper (about three inches diameter), filled them with seed compost, watered the 'pots' then made a hole with my finger, popped in a single seed and tucked it in with a bit more compost, I guess approx 1/2" deep max. I kept them by the window in the spare bedroom keeping it at between 10-15 deg  Six of them were on the propagator and these germinated within six days when I put them straight into the cold greenhouse. I put the rest of them in the propagator (they had to take it in turns as my prop isn't a big one) and that bit of extra heat germinated them overnight. Now, apart from two that I'm guessing could be duds, all are out in the greenhouse and coming along fine. Oh, I put a polythene sandwich bag over each of them, turning the bag inside out and giving it a shake if they became too wet with condensation. Once they'd germinated I took the bags off completely.

I hope this helps. There is an RHS link on one of my postings above somewhere that I found useful. I'm planning to sow more in mid Feb as an insurance as these are for table posies for my daughter's wedding in August and I don't want to mess it up.

Good luck with yours. Carly