[missmoneypenny]

Hello all. My window sill-raised sweet peas are now 20cm tall and feeling quite squeezed in their toilet rolls. Given the relentlessly wet and cold weather (I live in London) should I keep them indoors a little longer or take them down to the allotment and plant out? i don't want to expose them to the elements before they can cope. thanks

[Kleftiwallah]

 It sounds as though they want potting on into kitchen roll tubes !    Potting on into something larger will put your and the peas minds at ease and give you both a breather while the weather sorts itself out!

Cheers,    Tony.

[mumofstig]

get them outside, somewhere sheltered at first to let them acclimatise, then plant them 

[missmoneypenny]

Thanks for this I think I'll start trying to acclimatise them then plant out maybe in a week or 2. It looks like this rotten weather is with us to stay for a few more weeks 

[galen]

Took the oppurtunty of the break in the rain to plant mine out today, like yours they were about 20cm tall but fortunately had been outside for the past week so should be hardened off. 

[rich24uk]

They will be fine with the current weather if you harden them off for a few days. Mine were growing throughout winter

[sunshineband]

Just don't let the new generation of slugs and snails eat them 

[MoreWhisky]

Mine have been out for 4 weeks and have happily survived some hard frosts.

[kentishgal]

On a related note if you are planting sweet peas in containers how big should it be??
(I was planning on using trough planters but Im not sure they will be deep enough).

[Stree]

Hard to keep sweetpeas happy in containers unless its the dwarf type,  too easy for the soil/compost to become too dry or waterlogged or the roots too hot in the sun or get enough balanced nutrients .
Unless of course you are able to give them lots of regular attention.
 Possible but  not the best way to grow them.

Just realised what a hypocrite I am, I am trying to grow a few in some tiny hanging baskets......Hoping that the shade from the surfinias will help keep it cool and moist. Just an experiment really.
Thinking about it, I did grow sweetpeas in a tub last year and they were not too bad, never achieved full height but bloomed quite well. I used a plastic  tub, about 2 feet across and 20" deep, filled with heavy soil and heavy compost mix. When I say heavy compost, I mean its from garden waste and poultry muck, very rich and weighty, probably more stable than a lighter bag type compost soil mix. Same mix I use for container grown courgettes.
Shall I shut up now?

[Abbeyview]

OH planted ours out today in an area shaded from the wind.

[devonbarmygardener]

I went for it and planted most of them out yesterday in the garden.
Still very wet in Devon. They seem fairly hardy, I mean, most sweet peas you can start in the winter.

It's just the slugs I'm worried about

[Stree]

Dont worry, slugs are quite hardy too, and can always move if it gets a little nippy for them.

[Kim50]

Dont worry, slugs are quite hardy too, and can always move if it gets a little nippy for them.

[Agatha]

Mine went out 2 weeks ago (no more space in greenhouse) with some fleece wrapped round them just in case.