[flowergirl]

hi loads of people grow sweet peas on the site can anyone give me any advice as my daughter loves picking them ie what to grow them up,when to plant etc dont know if this should go in the gardening section  :oops:

[splodger]

firstly get yourself some seeds.

either collect some pods off of your fellow plot holders (but they do not always come true) - or buy them now - whilst the sales are on.

or pm me your address and i'll send you a good selection.

you can either sow in deep pots (i use bog roll tubes) in oct - or leave until jan/feb - or sow outside in mar.

sweetpeas enjoy a deep root run - and many people will plant them at the end of their runner bean trench. (i always have a good show - i put at either end of my trench.

there are many ways to plant and train them - wigwams - cordons - up netting - layered cordons etc... look at what you like on your site - and try that for your first year.

the best tip i can give you is allow for the deep root run and give a good helping of manure in early summer - keep watered (not been a problem this year!) tie in loosely as they climb up whatever supports you choose.

[Aunt Sally]

...  and don't let the pods form as it will stop them flowering !

[richyrich7]

pinch the tops out on the seedling when they get to 6 true leaves, you will get more flowers.

[jackiestagg]

The easiest support, if you can get them, is very twiggy hazel rods about 6ft long, use 3 or 4 to make a support and tie together at the top. I found netting worked but the flowers and pods get inside so you can't pick them, and poles on their own are useless because the plants keep escaping from them. The old methods are the best. And I've had a bumper crop this year due to the rain, good job as the roses were a washout.

[lizatros]

Also rub off some of the climbing tendrills. They do ok without all of them and they save energy for flowers

[Sadgit]

I am sick of all this pinching stuff off etc.. I want things I can plant that you can leave alone and they just grow.. grrrr

[WG.]

I am sick of all this pinching stuff off etc.. I want things I can plant that you can leave alone and they just grow..

creeping buttercup always does exceptionally well for me ...  

[muntjac]

fill a tren ch with 2 ft manure in winter ,cover with he soil and mound .dont walk on it .. put ya frame up .any old fishing net wil do .try speaking to the council for old footbal nets ,,,,, sow ya seed 6 to a 4 inch , deep pot in the warm and then plant out when they are 6inch tall  water well when its dry  the roots wil go right through the top sopil into the good stuff and if your watching em good ,they will be a forest of colour .

[Trillium]

I never pinch anything off my sweetpeas. But I do have to keep cutting off bloom stems to keep the flowering up. Loads of sweetpea flowers in the house during the season which is no hardship at all.  

[David.]

Many of my sweet peas used to fail to germinate (in heated greenhouse) until I found the tip about putting 1/4" of sand underneath the seeds when sowing.

Ever since I've done that every one has come ip.