sweet pea conditions?

I have recently planted some sweet pea seeds (3 weeks ago) and they are now already about 5cm high. I need to know what the next step is please as there are currently 8 seeds in a pot and obviously before long these are going to get rather crowded. At what point will I need to re-pot them and in what way? The seeds have been growing on my kitchen window sill very happily but now that they are getting bigger I need to move them or I will run out of room! Would they be OK in my garden shed by the window or will the change in temperature upset them too much? Thanks in advance.

 

Hi LCH,
with sweet peas, they do not like having thier roots disturbed, as you have so many in 1 pot it would be advisable to get them into a bigger pot and put them some where cooler, but don't give them a shock, the shed should be ok as long as they get light.
in future plant 3-4 seeds in a deep small pot, you can buy special sweetpea pots. sow them in the autumn and put in a cold frame, they will happily germinate when they are ready, when they are about 4 inches high, pinch out the tips, this will produce a sturdier plant and produce more stems to flower.
hope this was helpfull
Paul

 

If you don't want to buy rooting pots try loo rolls, these are nice and deep and can be put straight into flowering position when big enough. The rolls will disintegrate once in the ground. I always use these for broad beans as well.

 

That is a good tip Liz. I'm going to try some in the loo rolls. As mentioned above they don't like being disturbed and they like to be in resonably deep so your method takes care of the lot.

 

Thanks for all the info, when you say pinching out, do you just mean the top shoot, or if there are 3 shoots coming out of the top would you pinch out all 3 of them? Sorry for the novice questions but I don't want to do it wrong and ruin my plants!

 

while they are little they probably won't develop 2 or 3 shoots unless you pinch them out, they tend to go straight up! But yes,when they've got 3, you can pinch out again.

 

LCH,
yes pinch out the tips of ALL the growing shoots.
Its not to late to sow some more, sow try a few of these,
LADY DIANA......PALE PINK
RED ENSIGN......SCARLET
or just buy a mix and be surprised at the colours you get.
dont for get to save some seed from this years crop, to sow next year, they wont come true, but unless you are growing for show then give it a go

Paul

 

as well as loo rolls, which work incredibly well and cost zilch, you can spend out real money and get "root-trainers", which I find amazing, and don't tend to get mouldy as I've seen with the loo roll set-up