Topic: too late to sow sweet peas?

[gwynnethmary]

I love sweet peas, and have been reading that autumn sowings make for sturdier plants.  Am I too late to do this now?  If not, should I  put them straight outside?  I was thinking off putting them them in a large pot.

[flowerlady]

I do mine in loo rolls and then put them into the cold frame  :)

[saddad]

I think they should still sprout... if not you can wait for Spring.. if the mice don't eat them they will come up when ready...  :)

[laurieuk]

I would not put them in a large pot as they can be too wet. I do mine in early Oct. but I would have thought it should still be ok. I sow 10 seeds in a 5 inch half pot water them once and no more until they are up. Once they are large enough to handle (by the leaves not stem) I single them into 3 inch pots then grow them as cold as you can until late Feb. to plant out. You need to make sure the roots do not freeze but the tops are hardy.You can see mine on my website.

I love sweet peas, and have been reading that autumn sowings make for sturdier plants.  Am I too late to do this now?  If not, should I  put them straight outside?  I was thinking off putting them them in a large pot.

[gwynnethmary]

I love your web-site- very well done!

[gwynnethmary]

sorry laurie- another question....I don't have a cold frame- should I just tuck the pot into a sheltered corner of the garden?

[laurieuk]

I keep mine in a greenhouse that just keeps the frost out then in Feb.I plant out but with fleece and hoops ready in we have any very hard frosts.They will live through the winter without protection but you often lose then to slugs etc. All you are wanting to do through the winter is form a good root system.

[gwynnethmary]

Thanks for that- I shall try to follow instructions and hopefully be raising my own from seed this year instead of relying on B&Q.

[Hyacinth]

gtm, look further down this page - reddyreddy was asking about pinching out sweet peas and there's some info there, too 8)

[laurieuk]

We all do things in different ways I do not pinch my plants but let them break naturally. I then leave two or three breaks until they have been planted for a couple of weeks before reducing to one.If you reduce too early and the remaining one gets damaged you ahave a problem.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Mine have only just arrived. I'm going to chit them, start them off in the church vestry (which isn't heated) then put them out in a cold frame.

[shirlton]

I just put mine outside on the window sill with a net over to stop the birds and fleece over if there is a frost. With this mild weather they are growing a lot faster than last year. As Laurie said do watch the slugs cos they love em,
Nice website Laurie. Im not growing cordon this year cos of the time it takes to pinch and tie them. Am growing them naturally up the plot all the way up the path on wilkies arches.

[CotswoldLass]

Adore sweet peas too.....am completely disfunctional probably to all you experts, but I put the seeds straight into the ground in Spring. Does it work ? All I can say is I picked my last few today before rather sadly clearing this year's plants. Have had bunches of sweet peas on the table all season. 'Til next year!
CLx

[shirlton]

Nowt wrong with that Lass. They will grow just as well and you will probably be able to pick them for longer due to the later planting.If you are growing to catch an early show then October is the time to sow them.

[Borlotti]

I have always planted my sweet peas in the Spring, but feel a bit of planting coming on, think I will plant a few now just to try it.  I have saved seed and bought seed so must remember to label to see which does best.

[laurieuk]

Tying sweetpeas is about the only garden topic my wife and I  (golden wedding next year) have fell out over. My wife wanted to help me by tying the peas but she wanted to use rings and I never use rings so I still do it myself. If you use rings you have to undo each one when you want to layer but with raffia you just ran your knife along.

I just put mine outside on the window sill with a net over to stop the birds and fleece over if there is a frost. With this mild weather they are growing a lot faster than last year. As Laurie said do watch the slugs cos they love em,
Nice website Laurie. I'm not growing cordon this year cos of the time it takes to pinch and tie them. Am growing them naturally up the plot all the way up the path on wilkies arches.

[shirlton]

So glad you reminded me of layering cos I won't have to do that either. ;D

[gwynnethmary]

right, I finally had enough loo rolls to squash up in an ice-cream tub, I've planted the seeds, and watered them in.  Just to be absolutely clear, do I put them in a cold place immediately, or let them germinate (hopefully) indoors.  Sorry for being so needy!

[laurieuk]

I would let them germinate  first as they might damp off if too cold. I see I have a few growing amongst my autumn planted onion sets they must be from seed that fell from last years plants as I moved my row this year. When sowing I water once and then no more until they show as they damp very easy if wet while germinating.

[gwynnethmary]

thank you, they're on the kitchen window sill, and I shall be watching them with interest every day!