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Produce => Non Edible Plants => Topic started by: luckydog on February 20, 2009, 15:12:37

Title: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: luckydog on February 20, 2009, 15:12:37: I started my sweet peas off a few months ago in root trainers. When they were a few inches tall, I pinched the tops off them. They have since been sitting outside in my garden unprotected through all the snow & frosts & now don't look very healthy at all. ::)

Is this normal - have only done spring sowing before - & can I expect them to pick up when the weather does? Or should I just start again?

Luckydog :-\
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: saddad on February 20, 2009, 15:45:58: If they ain't dead they'll be fine... spring is just around the corner... ;D
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: shirlton on February 20, 2009, 15:59:38: Mine are looking fine, I did post a pic on a thread not so long ago. Have put the canes up today ready to plant them out probably next month.

Lucky dog Did you cover them with fleece during the hard frosts.If not they might have succumbed to the freezin weather. I'd give them a chance to see if they come through.
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: Mowhay on February 20, 2009, 16:00:16: Luckydog, they may have drooped in the bad weather but when the weather warmed up they should have stood back up. I keep mine in my unheated greenhouse.
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: luckydog on February 20, 2009, 16:06:22: Quote from: saddad on February 20, 2009, 15:45:58
If they ain't dead they'll be fine... ;D

;D

Quote from: shirlton on February 20, 2009, 15:59:38
Lucky dog Did you cover them with fleece during the hard frosts.If not they might have succumbed to the freezin weather.

No, didn't realise I had to cover them. Thought I was hardening them off!!! ::) ;D

Think I'd better start some more off, as a backup.
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: shirlton on February 20, 2009, 17:01:56: Mine have been outside since October. Only cover them when severe frost is forecast
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: Hyacinth on February 20, 2009, 19:42:10: :-[

I knew there was something I had to do when I came back from holiday.

Jub for tomorrow, then....find the seed packets ;D
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: manicscousers on February 20, 2009, 19:51:56: sowed some september, they're about 4" high, sowed some in january, about 1", just about to sow some more ;D
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: nippie on February 20, 2009, 20:07:40: Oh dear I am soooo behind this year. I usually plant in around Oct/ Nov but have only got around to it this week ::)
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: Emagggie on February 20, 2009, 20:15:14: I sowed my seeds in November and they all came up a treat, but I gave some away and so I will sow some more. A question though, The November sown ones in the cold greenhouse are rampaging all over the shop, can I still pinch them out or will it be too late now?
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: caroline7758 on February 20, 2009, 20:15:25: Hoping for better success this year- sowed in November in coldgreenhouse, they have survived and I remembered to pinch them out.May sow some more soon.b
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: Deb P on February 20, 2009, 21:37:27: I only started mine off last week...... :-[
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: Bean_Queen on February 21, 2009, 09:59:44: I sowed some in November (cold plastic greenhouse, now 4" tall and looking strong); some in January (not through yet); and will sow some more next month too, for a succession
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: laurieuk on February 21, 2009, 19:25:25: I did not notice this topis until after I had replied to the one about pinching the plants so you might like to read that one along iwth this one.
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: littlebabybird on February 22, 2009, 14:57:57: Emagggie
i'm no expert but i would still pinch them out, they will still bush out just no as mucch
lbb
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: shirlton on February 22, 2009, 17:05:11: Quote from: Emagggie on February 20, 2009, 20:15:14
I sowed my seeds in November and they all came up a treat, but I gave some away and so I will sow some more. A question though, The November sown ones in the cold greenhouse are rampaging all over the shop, can I still pinch them out or will it be too late now?

Maggie you don't want the main shoot to grow at all. After you have pinched it out you will get a lovely strong shoot come from the bottom. When this is big enough take the spindly one right off. I would pinch them back to 3 or 4 pair of leaves if they were mine.
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: Emagggie on February 22, 2009, 19:47:47: Great, thanks, both. ;D ;D
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: laurieuk on February 25, 2009, 14:53:26: I have just managed to finish my sweet pea trench, usually done some time ago but bad weather held things up. Hope to plant next week sometime.
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: kt. on February 25, 2009, 22:01:52: Quote from: Deb P on February 20, 2009, 21:37:27
I only started mine off last week...... :-[

Same here. The packet did say sow Feb-Mar ::)
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: manicscousers on February 26, 2009, 16:23:58: my next lot are just showing :)
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: saddad on February 26, 2009, 16:26:45: Ours are just showing too Manics... ;D
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: Mowhay on February 27, 2009, 08:24:17: Planted mine 20th Jan in trays on the spare room windowsill and moved them to the unheated greenhouse on the 31st. 23 out of 24 germinated. Planted the hanging basket ones on 21st Feb and they are showing through this morning going into greenhouse tomorrow so they don't get "leggy".
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: Borlotti on February 27, 2009, 18:23:23: Question for Betula and anyone else. Sweet peas are coming up well in unheated lean to. Still got some seeds to plant. When can I put the sweet peas that are coming up, getting tall now, outside (I have pinched off the top shoots). Heard a rumour that snow is coming back next week, so shall I wait a while.
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: saddad on February 27, 2009, 18:25:29: I'd wait a week or two yet Borlotti :)
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: Borlotti on February 27, 2009, 18:33:33: Thanks, I will wait. The weather has been so lovely in London today that it is very tempting to plant seeds too early. I will try and be patient.
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: flossy on February 27, 2009, 18:46:45: Snow !!! Next week, Noooooooooooooooo, can't cope with any more, :(

Was gardening in my T shirt today, was hot in my south facing garden ---- someone

tell me that it's not gonna happen !

Umm, sweet peas, umm, still haven't sown them yet, umm , doh ! :-[

floss x
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: saddad on February 27, 2009, 18:50:22: Soak them overnight Flossy and sow them tomorrow, they'll be a bit later than everyone else but as long as we don't get a long, hot summer, remember them from the mid 90's you'll do fine... ;D
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: flossy on February 27, 2009, 19:02:51: Ooooh , thanks saddad, will do ...phew ! ;D

floss xxx
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: betula on February 27, 2009, 19:22:23: Borlotti,I agree,wait a bit longer :)
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: laurieuk on February 28, 2009, 15:11:16: The weather was so good yesterday and today (Feb 28th) that I went ahead and planted my sweetpeas. I leave all the strong side growths until they have settled in and then select the best to tie in. I ordered 50 seeds but extra ones were included as two varieties had not been tested and I ended up with 63 plants. Not bad from 50 seeds ordered. ;D

(http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/1217/1001588.th.jpg) (http://img24.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1001588.jpg)
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: Bjerreby on February 28, 2009, 16:00:57: I sowed sweet pea Painted Lady late January in pots. After just 10 days thay had grown about 4" tall , and soon after were 8" tall with just 2 pairs of leaves. They are very, very spindly.

I am guessing I kept them too warm and there was too little light near my south facing French windows.

Does anyone think they can be saved, or should I start again?
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: laurieuk on March 01, 2009, 18:27:46: If you can keep them really cool or cold without frost and in full light they may recover. I myself would not pinch them out until they start to break on their own.
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: Bjerreby on March 02, 2009, 07:02:06: Quote from: laurieuk on March 01, 2009, 18:27:46
If you can keep them really cool or cold without frost and in full light they may recover. I myself would not pinch them out until they start to break on their own.

Thank for that reply. They are now in the cold frame, where it is about 4 or 5 degrees C. I noticed yesterday that they have developed two more tiny sets of leaves BELOW the bigger ones higher up! There is hope yet maybe :)
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: shirlton on March 02, 2009, 07:39:28: My sticks are up but I'm not planting until the middle of March. Thats if the weather isn't too cold. Don't want to be fleecing round the canes if a sharp frost comes. They will withstand a light frost.
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: laurieuk on March 04, 2009, 08:45:40: Provided they have not been in heat and the roots are in the ground or protected the tops are completely hardy. I have some plants that have self sown where the row was last year and theyhave had no protection at all right through the winter.
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: laurieuk on March 23, 2009, 20:01:53: It is now nearly a month since I planted my sweet peas so I can now start to select the stringest growth and tie them to the canes. They have come through a few hard frosts since I planted them but no damage.

(http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/5448/1001630y.th.jpg) (http://img297.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1001630y.jpg)
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: Bjerreby on March 24, 2009, 06:18:34: In my haste I sowed sweet peas in January. They went all spindly, and I thought I had lost them.

In further haste, I re-sowed about 10th March, and they look very sturdy plants.

In the meantime, the first spindly ones (I pinched off the main stem) have started to recover.

I'm telling myself that the lesson is, not to sow too early, and as soon as the seedlings appear, get them into the cold frame.
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: laurieuk on March 24, 2009, 14:42:57: You must grow them cold, I sow mine 8th October so that they get a good root system but I grow them as cold as possible only sheltering in very severe weather. I tried sowing in thenew year but got very poor results in comparison.
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: kt. on March 24, 2009, 19:45:47: 7 weeks down the line still nothing........ So I bought 22 sweet-pea plug plants from our lottie shop at the weekend.
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: simon404 on March 24, 2009, 21:06:55: I'll be sowing mine at the weekend. I tend to sow mine late and grow them fast, they'll be flowering by the end of June.

http://simonsallotment.blogspot.com/search/label/Sweet%20Peas
Title: Re: How are your sweet peas doing?
Post by: Bjerreby on March 25, 2009, 07:23:05: The ones in the background are my spindly January sowing, now recovering it seems. The ones in the foreground are from around March 1st

(http://i42.tinypic.com/1606dev.jpg)