[lovemyveg]

I have had great success with sweet peas this year, the plants I bought from a car boot trader.  From mid June until now I have been picking bunches of strongly perfumed flowers.  My question is how can I collect the seeds to sow for next years crop?  I have let some of the flowers produce pea pods, what do I do next?  Leave them on the plant until they dry (not sure whether this will work because the sparrows keep taking the young pea pods.  Pick the pods and leave them to dry out naturally.  Or pick them and take the pea seeds out of the pods dry.  I have noticed that straight from the plant the pea seeds are very moist and wonder whether they should be taken from the pods in order to dry out??  When dry when should I then sow the seeds for next years plants?  Would you then soak the dried pea seeds prior to sowing as the instructions suggest on the bought in packets?   Any advice would be appreciated.
 

[Trillium]

If birds are your problem them pick pods that feel full and bring them into the house to dry in the pods. Sometimes I've even taken them out of the pods to dry but they need to be a single layer depth for good air circulation so some sort of open container is fine. I leave them where every few days as I pass by I shuffle them about by hand and leave them.

Now, the problem with these sort of sweet peas is you won't get exactly what you planted as they'll have crossed with one another but that's okay too. Sometimes the crosses are even better than the originals.

A lot of UKrs start them early in greenhouses or sheds. Go into the Search mode above and type in sweetpeas and a whopping amount of articles will appear on when and how.

[lovemyveg]

If birds are your problem them pick pods that feel full and bring them into the house to dry in the pods. Sometimes I've even taken them out of the pods to dry but they need to be a single layer depth for good air circulation so some sort of open container is fine. I leave them where every few days as I pass by I shuffle them about by hand and leave them.

Now, the problem with these sort of sweet peas is you won't get exactly what you planted as they'll have crossed with one another but that's okay too. Sometimes the crosses are even better than the originals.

A lot of UKrs start them early in greenhouses or sheds. Go into the Search mode above and type in sweetpeas and a whopping amount of articles will appear on when and how.

Thank you so much for your reply Trillium, it's good to talk to like-minded gardeners from all over the world.  House sparrows in our garden have been a problem this year, taking all of my sugarsnap peas, small runner beans and now the sweet pea pods.  Still, we are told by the RSPB that house sparrows are in short supply, so I will forgive them for this.  I will have a go at both methods.  They were mixed colours originally, so I don't mind how they come out (if they do). 

[Paul Plots]

If birds are your problem them pick pods that feel full and bring them into the house to dry in the pods. Sometimes I've even taken them out of the pods to dry but they need to be a single layer depth for good air circulation so some sort of open container is fine. I leave them where every few days as I pass by I shuffle them about by hand and leave them.

Now, the problem with these sort of sweet peas is you won't get exactly what you planted as they'll have crossed with one another but that's okay too. Sometimes the crosses are even better than the originals.

A lot of UKrs start them early in greenhouses or sheds. Go into the Search mode above and type in sweetpeas and a whopping amount of articles will appear on when and how.

Thank you so much for your reply Trillium, it's good to talk to like-minded gardeners from all over the world.  House sparrows in our garden have been a problem this year, taking all of my sugarsnap peas, small runner beans and now the sweet pea pods.  Still, we are told by the RSPB that house sparrows are in short supply, so I will forgive them for this.  I will have a go at both methods.  They were mixed colours originally, so I don't mind how they come out (if they do). 

House sparrows? Lucky thing - I think we have about two left in our area... dozens of new houses but none suited to accommodating sparrows. Aren't modern soffits wonderful 

We intend to soak then sow our sweet peas this coming week-end 

[lovemyveg]

Taking the advice of Trillium,  Some weeks ago I took some fresh pods from the sweet peas, dried them and have planted some of the seeds in the cardboard loo roll inserts and they are now in the greenhouse.  Last week I collected the remaining pods from the plants, most of which were already dry, so I emptied the seeds out and they are now drying on the windowsill.  Do I pinch out the middle leaves on the newly shooting sweet peas to get them to bush out?   A gardening friend told me that he puts them straight into the ground at this time of year - has anyone else tried this method? 

[madcat]

Re the house sparrows and soffits - if you will allow me a little trip off topic?

We have two 'sparrow terraces' tucked up under the eaves, two rows of three boxes, which have raised 4 families each year and keep a lot of birds safe and warm during the winter.  Well worth doing and no trouble apart from a once yearly clean out when all the chicks have fledged and are away.

[tode]

Yes, get em planted, Lovemyveg.  Mine are already about 5 inches high.   

[lovemyveg]

Yes, get em planted, Lovemyveg.  Mine are already about 5 inches high.   

Hi Tode
Are you replying "Yes" to pinching out the tops of the sweet peas, or to planting the sweet peas straight into the garden?

[tode]

Yes and yes.         (Usually pinch mine out in Spring, but they do get a bit straggley by then. )