The Sweetest Sweet Peas

Sweet peas are one of my favourite flowers to grow. They aren't particularly showy due to their small and delicate nature and they don't last very long, BUT they are beautiful, they smell amazing, and there is a special nostalgic response that we get every time we bring them to the market. I can't tell you how many times we've had people see them and have a story to tell about how their grandmother grew them or how they remind them of their childhood. There's just something so special about them. I have mentioned in the past that we've noticed lots of people starting their sweet peas indoors, and that we don't do that and don't anticipate ever doing so. I've seen classes advertised for big dollars, and I'm here to tell you that growing your own sweet peas doesn't have to be difficult. Like most gardening, they take some time, care, attention, and a little bit of luck. If you're willing to do the work, I'm here to help you grow some of your own sweet peas using our really simple method.

We purchase the majority of our Sweet Pea seeds from Stokes Seeds, but this year we got a few special colours that we just couldn't say no to from Floret Flowers. We also for the first time saved seeds from last season and after having done a germination test in December, we know that they are good too. If you don't want to purchase seeds every year you should definitely consider saving your seeds. We'll have a post on how to save seeds in summer!

Sweet peas like cool weather and sunshine. Make sure that the spot you have chosen for them has easy access to water, and lots of sunshine. Sweet peas are also one of the earliest things you can seed. When the weather starts to warm up, and your soil is warm that's when it's time to seed. We probably could have seeded ours two weeks ago with the warm temperatures we have had this spring but with this little cold snap we had coming (and are now experiencing) we decided to wait because once you seed them they need very regular attention until they are bigger and quite honestly with the cold temps we are having they won't be doing much in the soil anyways. When I say warm soil it's kinda an arbitrary descriptor, so what I really mean is when the foreseeable forecast is all above zero (both day temps and night lows) it's likely time to seed! If theres a couple cool nights or days in the forecast don't stress too much, just make sure it's not a premature spring you are experiencing and it's the real thing. The soil should be thawed.

The night before you have decided to seed them, soak them in cool water. This ensures that you won't have to wait for rain for them germinate. Now all you have to do is take your seeds out to the garden, make a row for them (or if you want a small patch to climb up an arbour or something all you need is to poke the seeds down an inch) seed them a couple inches apart, and lightly cover back up with soil. Don't plant them too deep (only about an inch deep). We have pretty thick soil, so often what we do is make our row, seed the peas, and then lightly cover with a fine soil. We then gently pack the soil (Just using our foot gently stepping on the area seeded along the row) and water. If you're expecting cold damp weather hold off seeding because the seeds could rot in the ground. If the temps are above freezing it's important that once the seeds are in the ground they stay moist. Allowing the seeds to dry out after they've been soaked and planted will likely mean that they start to germinate and then don't have enough moisture... and then they die. So don't let them dry out. We generally water them daily or every other day until they are a few inches tall!

Once you've seeded (or even before you have seeded) you will need to put up some sort of structure for them to climb on. Under perfect conditions Sweet Peas can grow 1 foot per week thats a lot of growth, so be prepared. We use chicken wire and rebar, but you can use whatever you want! All they need is something to climb, so even attaching fishing line vertically from a structure can work! Last year our 6 foot tall fence was too short, so I am serious when i say they get tall.

Once they start growing, they like to be fertilized and watered often. It's a good idea to add some fish fertilizer to your sweet peas, they love it. You can fertilize once a month. Sweet peas don't like it too hot so it's not uncommon for them to slow down production in the middle of summer. If you're lucky when the cooler temps return, the production may increase, however it's also common for them to slow production as their sunlight hours decrease which is why their peak production is generally in July.

Sweet peas are frost tolerant (especially if direct seeded in spring because they don't require a hardening off phase... because direct seeding gives them a natural hardening off phase) therefore you shouldn't need to worry too much if the temps drop slightly below freezing (-1) but much cooler than that we recommend being covered (although we've had them survive at temps below -3 but we don't recommend risking it). They are one of the flowers we have blooming until the bitter end of the fall season, and with a little luck we hope yours will too.

Happy planting!

M