Sweet Peas

Hello all gardners.
I am looking for some help/advice on how to grow sweet peas from seed.

Already I have planted some seeds in compost in pots. Watered well and put them in a cool place with sun.
I saw on gardeners world that they need to be in the cold to toughing them up.

Is this right?
Is there anything else I should keep in mind?

Also, once they start to show growth, what do I do after that?
When is the best time to put them out in the garden?
I've bought a peice of mesh for them to grow up.

Thanks in advance.

 

Put them somewhere where they maintain a steady temperature, put folded newspaper on top and wait for them to germinate, once they start to germinate remove the newspaper (for me, germmination happens when the compost starts drying..usually around 7 days, but can also be much longer).

Let them grow on, first leaves are seed leaves, 2nd are true leaves. When you have three sets of true leaves nip out the top (3rd set) of the plant between thumb and forefinger nails, this encourages them to bush out. Now put them somewhere where they get plenty of light, a cool greenhouse or coldframe is ideal.

I plant mine out mid May after hardening off, thjis means they come out of the greenhouse during the day then back in at night for around a week.

Good luck!

Steve...

 

I have been asked to provide sweetpea blooms for a wedding in late August 2011 but I've never grown any sweetpeas before.
So my questions are:
1) What variety should I use;
2) When should I plant them; and
3) How do I ensure that I have a plentiful crop in late August.
I don't have a greenhouse. My garden faces south west. I plan to use growbags.
Any help or advice will be much appreciated.
X:o)

 

I've just got to say - I love your avatar mr Steve R ! : )

 

I would get plants from the garden centre. Ours sells a pot with between 10 and 20 seedlings in it. You can then just split them up and plant them individually in pots, grow them on for a bit, then plant out. (The pots of seedlings are cheaper than the cost of the seed, and that's assuming 100% germination! I count the number of seedlings in each pot and buy the ones with the most seedlings-per-pot!)

That way you can choose single-colour or mixed-colour depending on what you fancy (and strong-scent or no-scent)

To get blooms on a particular day (for us its normally a weekend party) I cut all the flowers 4 - 5 days before, and then a new "crop" will be ready on-the-day. You'll have time to experiment with that in the run up to the wedding.

I pinch out the plants when they get to about 3 sets of true leaves, to get some side-shoots, and then I grow single-cordon - keeping only the strongest shoot, and taking out any side shoots that develop. I train each one up a separate cane.

Make sure you take off any dead flowers, and do not let them go to seed, as the plant will tend to shut down once the seed sets.

 

I was so relived to see this post and answers on Sweet Peas... I potted some up and they have stared to grow ( about 1 inch). Thanks to this thread I will now , after the true leaves appear... put them somewhere cool

 

Ok I have now 8 shoots coming through the soil.
They look very fragile. DO i need to keep watering them as they grow?

 

I am just wondering about the leaves to pinch out to help bush out more.

There is 1 tiny little leaf just above the soil.
There is also bigger leaves at the top of the plant. Do I start counting the bigger leaves or is it the really tiny leaf just above soil level I count?

 

The first leaves that appear are the "Seed Leaves" /so called Cotyledons. These rarely (if ever?) look like the "true leaves" on any plant (except thingsa that only produce one, like Grass, leeks, Onions). So if you have a pair of seed leaves, like Swetpeas, they will look different to the subsequent "true leaves". However, the seed leaves tend to wither / fall off, so once the plant is a decent size they probably won't be there any more.

So you have a pair (or one, if on fell off already!) of seed leaves, then three pairs of true leaves (which will all look the same), and you pinch off just above that.

The "pairs" may not be opposite each other, they may be staggered. So 6 true-leaves in total.