Sweetpeas

I don't feed them at all. They go in a "good bed"-ie it has had compost added, but other then that nothing.

I could be wrong but I treat them like nasturtiums, in that I do very little to the soil other than condition it.

Having said that, soil types do differ. Up here in the north my soil is pretty much the best possible stuff you could get-black and crumbly-I get away with murder with the stuff.

 

I was just thinking that in a container they might need a little help

 

Would you like to swap? I can send you some heavy, dense clay...full of nutrients though:hehe:

This year I'm growing sweetpeas in an extremely accessible location. Last year I had them in odd places around the garden so I couldn't reach them properly to cut the blooms.

 

My soil is a bit like yours S G and when I visit my friends in Yorkshire and see theirs Im very envious :grn:
Hopefully I should get a few blooms, even if I have to nurture them like babies :wink:

 

Me too!! I learned that lesson last year. I'm only just sewing mine today - am I too late?!! It's always damn raining here, but a small window of sunshine has happened upon us, so I'm off out now.

I read on a website that if u gently break the seed shell a tiny bit it helps germination?? Let's hope so , eh?!! Otherwise the kids will be playing a riveting game of 'hunt the sweet pea seeds' this summer. :D

 

Hi VIctoria,

It shouldn't be too late, nope! Time to get those seeds in yet

I had terrible trouble for years with sweet peas, which is a shame because they are my absolute favourites. The colours and smell just totally do it for me! When I was just about to give up with the idea of growing them myself, I got talking to an old boy down the road who always had a beautiful row of them and I managed to find out his secrets. He always started his off inside on a windowsill, between Feb and May - some earlier and some later for "prolonged beauty, you see?". He used two things from Aldi - a bag of their seed compost and a grow bag. Fill pots with half of each, water well and pop onto the windowsill. When they get to that gangly 6-12" height, upgrade into bigger pots with just the grow bag soil, and pop in some supports - he used (thus so do I lol), twigs in a square around the plant, with raffia or gardening string tied around them. When they start filling out a bit (past the tall and gangly stage that mine used to fail at), they are ready for a week acclimatising outside.

He also used Hessian bags from April onwards, two plants per 3ftlongx2ftdeepx1.5fthigh or a similar size depending on what you can get. He used the same aldi seed/grow bag compost mix and covered with a piece of glass until the plants were just touching it, then whipped it off and left them to do their thing.

I've done both but this year I'm just sticking to pots on the windowsill. I sowed my seeds about 3 weeks ago now and have some very gangling looking plants which I've just repotted with the seed/grow bag mix and supported them, they are doing really well and tomorrow I'm going to sow some more seeds, coz you can't have enough sweet peas =D

 

Hi VIctoria,

It shouldn't be too late, nope! Time to get those seeds in yet

I had terrible trouble for years with sweet peas, which is a shame because they are my absolute favourites. The colours and smell just totally do it for me! When I was just about to give up with the idea of growing them myself, I got talking to an old boy down the road who always had a beautiful row of them and I managed to find out his secrets. He always started his off inside on a windowsill, between Feb and May - some earlier and some later for "prolonged beauty, you see?". He used two things from Aldi - a bag of their seed compost and a grow bag. Fill pots with half of each, water well and pop onto the windowsill. When they get to that gangly 6-12" height, upgrade into bigger pots with just the grow bag soil, and pop in some supports - he used (thus so do I lol), twigs in a square around the plant, with raffia or gardening string tied around them. When they start filling out a bit (past the tall and gangly stage that mine used to fail at), they are ready for a week acclimatising outside.

He also used Hessian bags from April onwards, two plants per 3ftlongx2ftdeepx1.5fthigh or a similar size depending on what you can get. He used the same aldi seed/grow bag compost mix and covered with a piece of glass until the plants were just touching it, then whipped it off and left them to do their thing.

I've done both but this year I'm just sticking to pots on the windowsill. I sowed my seeds about 3 weeks ago now and have some very gangling looking plants which I've just repotted with the seed/grow bag mix and supported them, they are doing really well and tomorrow I'm going to sow some more seeds, coz you can't have enough sweet peas =D

 

Great advice. Did he tell u when to pinch out? I'm not sure when or how to do it.

 

I'll be pinching mine out right about now, probably a job for this weekend. The idea, which I'm sure you'll know, is to let them establish then pinch off the tops so they beef up and out as opposed to just up, up, up!

I trace the plant down to the really healthy, thicker stalk and leaves, usually a few inches down from the top of the plant, then just pinch off with thumb and finger. It's a job I hate doing lol but always worth it in the end.

I can put up a pick or two of my gangly sweet peas if you like, so you can get an idea of how I support them and when I pinch off?

 

Yes please!! :thmb:

 

Right here goes. I've pinched a few today and in the pic with my hand you can see where I've taken the top few inches off.

 

That's brilliant - much clearer with pics!! Now I get the 'stick and twine' idea.

Thank you! :thumb:

(btw - are gardeners supposed to have such perfect nails??!!! Not fair!!)

 

No problem at all!

And lol about the nails! I guess I am a cheat gardener at the moment. I still haven't got a spade or a lawn mower (the joys of being unemployed :( ) so all of my "gardening" consists of right now is pots on windowsills! Borrowing a spade next week to cut in some borders in the garden and I expect the grass will just stay as it is as can't afford to buy a mower or hire someone to do it. Oh well, oh natural it will be!

 

You could graze a goat?!

 

How are your Sweetpeas doing Victoria Plum?

Mine have bushed out quite nicely, not far off getting too big for their pots now.

Our garden is going to be strimmed, mowed and dug in a few weeks time (courtesy of our landlady) so not long now until I move a couple out.

I might do it in stages. Two or three out once the garden is done, two or three more after that. Just because I don't want to risk putting them all out at one time, just to be hit by really bad weather and having to start all over again. If I do it in stages, the most I'd lose is a handful of plants. We shall see!