How To Grow Sweet Peas From Seed, Starting Sweet Peas, When To Plant Sweet Peas, Get Gardening

How To Grow Sweet Peas From Seed, Starting Sweet Peas, When To Plant Sweet Peas, Get Gardening
Whilst not necessary I generally soak my Sweet Pea seeds before planting, especially if the compost to plant in is on the dry side.
To do this put the sweet pea seeds into water, leaving them to soak for 6-8 hours. I tend to leave them to soak overnight but in this instance the seeds were left to soak during the day, whilst I was at work. By letting the seeds soak the seeds swill become fully hydrated and the skin/shell will soften and split, leading to a faster germination rate.
Whilst many people say Sweet Peas can only be grown in deep pots, root trainers, sweet pea grow tubes or in toilet rolls, they can be readily grown in normal pots or cell trays if fewer seeds are sown.
When sowing seeds in cell trays just use 1 or 2 seeds per cell. A 24 cell tray is the smallest size I would recommend to use. For planting this year I am trying out the new Gro-sure 20 cell trays from @Westlandhorticulture. Made from recycled plastic they are also about 25% deeper than a standard cell tray which makes them great for sweet peas. Also, as the cells are clear it also means that you can see when roots have developed properly to transplant.
Fill the cell trays with compost, lightly firming the compost to remove any air pockets.
Use a dibber, pencil, stick or similar to make a small hole in the centre of the compost, in each cell.
Place 1 or 2 sweet pea seeds into each hole.
Cover over the seeds with more compost and lightly firm.
If the compost is dry then at this stage give the whole seed/cell tray a light water.
Sweet Peas do not require the use of a heated propagator in which to germinate as they reliably grow in a cold frame or protected area.
If sowing seeds at this time of year, February, then make sure to the seed trays are kept in a warm and frost free environment throughout the germination process.
Once plants have grown and have about 2 pairs of leaves on, including the seedling leaves, the tips can be pinched out. Pinching the tips out will encourage the plants to become stronger and to bush out, in turn producing more stems that can produce flowers.
Following pinching of the tips, with fresh growth appearing, the plants can be moved into an unheated cold frame, allowing the plants to harden up in preparation for planting in April.
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[@3252fly]

Bruce, Northern Canadian Elder. = Thank you. trying balcony plants first time. Your video will make my sweet peas grow well.

[@diyhomeandgardening]

Hi Bruce.
Many thanks for watching and taking the time to message.
Always nice to have views from the other side of the globe.
Hope you picked some nicely scented varieties to grow and give you plenty of scent throughout your balcony.
All the best 🌼