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Sowing sweet peas
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moogie



Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Near Bridgend
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 05 6:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Grew sweetpeas last year for the first time and all I did was tip the contents of the packet into a border, didn't even bother to dig the border and let nature take its course. They grew huge and I'm pretty sure all of them germinated.

Guest






PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 05 6:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Tip on watering that I forgot to put in my post above: water the compost thoroughly, sow your seeds, cover over, then do not water again until the seeds have germianted. Too much water at this stage and the seeds will certainly rot away under the compost.

Nanny



Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 05 7:09 pm    Post subject: sweet eoas Reply with quote
    

i love growing sweet peas myself and always look forward to the first bunch..........

this year in fact i may grow less beans and more sweet peas. all part of the cottage garden isn't it

tinyclanger



Joined: 27 Dec 2004
Posts: 190
Location: in the kitchen, baking
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 05 7:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I'm going to grow some this year too, you have all inspired me and I've been out in the garden most of this lovely day.

They make the house smell so lovely. The year before last I had big bunches everywhere every week, smelt great. An extra scent for fiddlesticks julie's fragrent ideas I cut them everyother day and they kept going til the first frost, great value for money.

can anyone till me which ones to grow for fragrence?


wellington womble



Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 05 7:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Sarah ravens book is big on fragranced sweet peas - I'll get it out later and check the varieties for you.

Mrs Fiddlesticks



Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 10460

PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 05 10:20 am    Post subject: Re: Sowing sweet peas Reply with quote
    

Bugs wrote:
Do flowers count as downsizing???


definitely - if it stops you having to buy air freighted Kenyan roses from Waitrose or where-ever Also they encorage bees and beneficial insects in to the garden. She says having spent much of saturday digging out her new cutting garden ready for the sweet peas to go in!

judith



Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire
PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 05 10:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Sweet peas are absolutely essential - can't imagine a summer without them. My no. 1 favourite is called Matucana - one of the very early varieties from the 1700s. Two-tone purple, easy to grow and the most heavenly scent you have ever smelled.

I have a tray of a bog standard mix on the windowsill at the moment. These are destined for the veg garden, while the matucana will be closer to the house for picking. I just sow them without bottom heat - might take a couple of weeks if it is cold, but they always come up eventually.

Bugs



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 05 10:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I love the way everyone's got so defensive about their sweet peas - needn't feel embarassed any more I don't buy flowers though (and refuse to have them bought for me ) so flowers from the garden are a pleasant addition rather than a substitute.

I've put two pots in Wisley style, one is Painted Lady and the other some lilac blue one; these are in the greenhouse unless it gets cold again. Then I've got 20 plants in roottrainers in the house. Should they all grow I'll be able to find homes for them all but I'm not counting my chickens

judith



Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire
PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 05 11:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Bugs wrote:
Should they all grow I'll be able to find homes for them all but I'm not counting my chickens


Chickens rather like sweet peas too!

wellington womble



Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands
PostPosted: Fri Mar 25, 05 10:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

SR reccommends mantucana, cupani, painted lady, black night, lord nelson, janet scott, gipsy queen and mrs collier.

It's a very good book, if you want to grow flowers for picking (borrow it from the library, its about 20 quid) and most varieties are available from places other than SR's website, which is extorntionate!

Bugs



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

PostPosted: Fri Mar 25, 05 12:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I've seen the Cutting Gardne (is that the right name) in discount shops for £3-4...quite tempted, but I really shouldn't buy any more books, let alone one on flowers...

At least book buying is constructive. My sister owns more pairs of shoes than she can remember...I actually suspect Treacodactyl owns more shoes than me.

wellington womble



Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands
PostPosted: Fri Mar 25, 05 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

That's the one, don't tell TD I said so (I don't need any more telling off for encouraging other people to buy books, I get told off enough for buying my own!) but it's avery good read. Trouble is, you end up wanting space for a cuttings patch too! I am gradually turing all my borders over to cut flowers and herbs (the ones that aren't full of veggies, anyway) I like the idea of planting things that have uses in the house, even if its only decorative (although the border between cut flowers and herbs is a bit blurred!)

It's a lovely book to curl up in front of the fire with too (now I'm really going to be in trouble) I bought a pair of shoes last week as well! With high heels! I presume bugs will not be following my example, but I've got a couple of job inteviews next week, and need to make myself look employable (and young and trendy, which is a lot harder!)

Lloyd



Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 2699

PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 05 9:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Ok, girls, speaking as a bloke, I love sweet peas, have grown them every year for at least 15 years, always from seed. My wife isn't that fussed about gardening, but I cut the stems daily, and put bunches in vases in every room all through the season. I always collect the seeds at the end, but can never find them the following spring!

Bugs



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

PostPosted: Wed Mar 30, 05 5:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

wellington womble wrote:
That's the one, don't tell TD I said so (I don't need any more telling off for encouraging other people to buy books


Just between me and you, I'll have a look next time I go in to town. You never know. TD doesn't read anything I write here anyway so we're perfectly safe

Well, cheers to all the helpful advice on here - my sweet peas in rootrainers, accompanied by Parsley Pea and Sugar Ann sugar snaps, have germinated pretty well - a mix I put in is doing especially well, almost all have come up looking good, Painted Lady is rather slower and I'm a bit disappointed with my Kent Blue peas from the HDRA, but we'll see. This is the best looking crop of sweet pea seedlings I've had ever (personally) so onwards and upwards, here's to a beautiful gallery of pics in the summer

Bugs



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

PostPosted: Wed Mar 30, 05 5:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Madman wrote:
Ok, girls, speaking as a bloke, I love sweet peas, have grown them every year for at least 15 years, always from seed.


So Madman, now I've got my seedlings, what would you suggest I do with them next? They're indoors at the moment ...

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