Hello friends!
As many of you may know this is our first official year growing sweet peas from seed for our garden. Last year we tried to direct sow them in May, but it was a fiasco. Over the winter we did a lot of research so when it came time to plant the seeds in March, we felt a bit more confident.
We are definitely still beginners with growing sweet peas, and we know some of you guys as well – so we thought it could be helpful to share the few tips we’ve learned so far. As we learn through this current growing season, we will make sure to add to this list!
1. Plant Early
This was absolutely our error in the 2021 growing season because the seeds did not get enough of a head start to be able to grow quickly and strongly outside in a New England May. This year we planted the seeds in late March and made sure they had a warm and sunny windowsill to sit on. Some of the seeds popped up within a week or two and others took their time so don’t worry if you don’t see anything right away.
2. Get deep pots
This was one thing we kept seeing over and over when we did our research after our own failed attempt. Make sure you find deep plant pots to plant your seeds in and the reason for this is because sweet peas grow down instead of out. Also, they do not like to have their roots disturbed when replanted so be careful when doing so. Other research we found was to not soak the seeds overnight or slice the seeds before planting — many people said it was not necessary. The last planting tip is to put them just under the soil, no deeper than ¼ of an inch.
3. Pinch with three leaves
This tip is one of the most fun, but I also found it stressful as I did not want to do it incorrectly. Rest assured, the plants are resilient and like to have a reason to push out new growth. What you do is wait until there are three sets of leaves and then once there are you pinch off the growth above the 3rd leaf node. That way the sweet pea is forced to grow into two separate directions creating more spots for you to have blooms.
4. Trellis
This one you may already know but it is super important! Sweet peas are a climber and need something to grow up on so any kind of trellis, fence, or woven wires will do the trick. Just make sure there are many places for the plants to grow up to and grab onto. We made stick pyramids and have wound twine around them for the seedlings. As they grow, we will add more spots for them higher up on the pyramids.
There you go! There are our four tips for growing sweet peas. We cannot wait for them to bloom and go out and pick them every day. Remember the more you cut sweet peas the more they grow and flower! So, pick to your hearts content.
Do you think we missed anything? Let us know in the comments – we’d love to hear from you!
XX
Waite and Matthew
