Amazing how many different growing instructions for the same plant! I always sow mine 1 cm deep in multipurpose at room, (my living room), temperature. I always get good germination. Interesting to see how all the different methods compare. Thank you Steve for trialling this. You are like me- getting the shivers when an air ambulance flys by. I always hope tdhat because of the air ambulance that whoever it is will be in good hands and will make a good recovery. Can't bear to think of anyone in pain or in distress. Happy gardening 😃
I'd say I was a big old softy but this is different really LOL I still cannot understand why the air ambulance is a charity - and one I support at every opportunity!
Nice one Steve for the shout out and for doing this trial with the Sweet Peas, Steve at Greenside Up RIP he used to grow Sweet Peas every year and they were great, he used to cut them off and give them to his Wife. It's rather a bit weird now watching one of his episodes to check on something. I have a packet of Sweet Pea seeds called 'Little Sweetheart Mixed' but i'll wait for your trial before they go in the Root Trainers, as my packet says to Soak for 12hrs and then sow 0.5cm deep in Trays of Moist Compost, weird how each one says differently. Have a good week mate, Barry (the Wirral)
I’ve grown Sweetpeas for years. Love them. They are the gift that keeps on giving. The more you pick, the more you get. I usually soak the seeds in very warm water for an hour then sow in root trainers. I use seed compost with vermiculite mixed in and top with vermiculite. I used to always sow them in the Autumn and overwinter. I have occasionally scratched the shell rather than soaking and have also sown without doing anything to them. I think it’s all much of a muchness to be honest. They eventually germinate anyways. It’ll be interesting to see what differences you find. I’m sowing in March for a change this time. Good luck with them Steve. Mags 🌸
Jeeeez, never realised there were so many ways! I just wont do them in Autumn again, that didnt work at all for me. In spring i just bung em in 😂 no soaking or scraping or rubbing!
Hi Steve I've never grown them either 😂, I might do some this year if I remember to buy some seeds. A tip I heard a long time ago is to put sand paper inside a match box and rattle the seeds around to scarify them.👍👌🤠🙏
Hi steve your love the sweet peas the scent is just devine, val loves having them, we tried different ways but start ours off October time for early flowers followed by second sowing if you want now for prolonged cropping and display of flowers .
I’ve tried them once, spent quite a bit at GW live on these amazing seeds. I followed the instructions (keep in fridge then scrape with a file). 1 germinated 😂
Hi Steve, I sow my sweetpea seeds in October, (they flower earlier)for the last 2 seasons. Don't need to soak or nip the seed. Just sow them and they will be ok. I bought mine from the Chelsea show as recommended buy Steve ftom Greenside Up. Last season I grew a variety called Mammoth, again reccommened by Steve again & they were beautiful ❤ I'm growing mine in a single stem this season as a trial as when you prick out they grow more leaves and I had a mass of flowers ladt Year & took over completely. Love the fact that you haven't grown them before & impressed with your research too. Good luck & will be interesting to see how your trial goes. Thanks for sharing and take care 😊
Looking forward to seeing how it goes, Steve. Best results for me (only that really worked ever haha) was past season. Seed pack said to plant seed outside as soon as ground can be worked. No soaking, and i had poor soil. They came up nicely.
will be starting mine off this weekend. never pre soaked before and most germinate fine! its more about the nicking out that gets confusing at times! we get the air ambulance over by us quite a bit what with being rural. a couple of years one landed in the field near us and found out one of the farm neighbours her husband had a heart attack but didn’t survive. they were quicker than the ambulance which did arrive about 10 mins later! very sad but support them alot because you never know! interesting the various methods though, cheers Steve
Good luck Lisa, let us know how it goes with the swwet peas this year. Yes, the air abmulance flies by here shockingly often. It lands cloes by too as there are a few sports fields about 1/2 mile from me. Never will understand why it is a charity and not NHS funded!
@@DigwellGreenfingers the village near us does a couple of tractor runs and raise money for the charity every time! Ive got to brave the cold wind and get some multi purpose compost from the outbuilding to bring in so can start planting my seeds! brr
Soaking for a few hours helps them germinate a bit faster but overall is not needed. I push them down maybe 1 inch below the soil. Inoculate can be used also but I haven't noticed a difference. I have never nicked or used sandpaper. We'll see if you end up noticing any difference between the planting methods. I'm guessing you will be back in 3 to 4 weeks with some nice seedlings. I should add that in my Chicagoland area, I wouldn't start them until April. Your climate tends to be more mild than mine so, if you will mostly be above freezing by the time they go into the garden, you should be ok.
😢😢😢😢 my sweet peas have frozen solid even under covers in the poly tunnel. So as soon as my foot of snow is gone and I can actually get to the poly tunnel I’ll sow more. I have those from our Greek take out and chit squash in them. Great to be in T-shirt weather I’m hiding from the cold 🥶, ⛄️⛄️⛄️, Ali 🇨🇦
the difference is Steve, a lot of seed companies source the seeds from places like Italy so the seed coat is hard. should you get some to germinate and save your own seeds ( just tie some wool around the stems you like (similar colour - you can loose labels) they won't be so hard so next year you can just some them straight away... there, I've edjumakaated ee. I've got mine to sow
Hi Steve Great experiment you doing there, will be interesting to see the results. I have never had any success with sweet peas, they either do not germinate or die on me when they about a foot tall. I have pinched the grow tip out on some and not the others but they still die on me. Good luck with yours. 👍👍👍👍👍
Just started to soak our sweetpeas. Wasn’t going to grow them as last year when we brought them home, they had little black shiny bugs on them. Tricia wasn’t impressed 😂
@@DigwellGreenfingers when I watched Steve’s video on sweet peas he half fills the trays and waters the compost then places two seeds to each module then tops up with dry compost on top and creates a capillary effect and covers with newspaper on the top and on the bottom and leaves to germinate then removes once germinated
Hi Steve this is the first year I have not grown any I use to plant in pots in November and leave in my greenhouse all winter it worked But the plants did not last long. I could have come to sit on your fish tank to keep warm (been without a boiler for one week 🥶🥶🥶
Nightmare buddy! I take it you have fan heaters etc? I was the same some years ago - I bought a 2nd kettle to help with having a bath, but i quickly learned to use a lot less water! 🛀
@@kirkwilson72 I'd love that plot! Twice the size of the rest. My advice - do not rotavate! The previous 2 tenants did (repeatedly) and all this did was bring the dormant weed seeds to the surface over and over again. (which is why it looks like it does now!) Dock seeds can lie dormant for 80 years and the ones on your plot are not from freshly blown in seeds. Every time you clear a patch, cover it until you use it (cardboard or weed membrane) - again something they did not do. See you up there one day when it warms up!
@DigwellGreenfingers yeah thanks for advice and im gunna start on it tomorrow, planning on going up Thursdays and fridays between 2-5 so may see you up there
Hi Steve be good to see results I've tried various ways over the years and settled for just sowing them straight into root trainers i stopped soaking as they're going into wet compost anyway and i stopped using sand paper or knife on the seeds because the following year in the bed where they where grown volunteers germinated from fallen seed pods without using this method now as them volunteers had lay outside all winter maybe i should try putting my new seeds in the fridge to replicate a winter
Sometimes, we need to step back and ask "How does Nature do it?" Some of the things I've tried may speed things up bay a day or two - we'll see - but does it matter? Have a great week over there. PS are you guys in for the #SSPC2024?
@@DigwellGreenfingers Steve I've all my tests done but still waiting for date to go in for open heart surgery so apart from sitting around i cant plan to much this year struggling to even hand weed at plot
@@DigwellGreenfingers LOL if only Steve I'm really bored the Professor at hospital put me out of work on the sick not allowed to drive and i cant even walk to end of street i get light headed wish it was all over till i get back to normal never been out off work especially my job always busy
As I said, never grown them before so I was just following the advice on the various websites, as any novice would. National Sweet Pea Society: "Sow seed in October, if in the south or midlands, or from January to February. Later sowings are possible if growing for garden decoration and cutting for the house." It's a mine field LOL 💣
Input mine in toilet rolls filled with compost then when grown up inthe loo rolls burythem in the garden around the pea stick with wam I've been doing this for ages
Good tip, thanks! I had a poor show with loo rolls a few years ago on my runner beans. It turned out that the inside of the tube was lined with a sort of plastic film (very white) and the roots didn't spread out well. Okay going down and when I realised I just ripped the tube off.
Amazing how many different growing instructions for the same plant! I always sow mine 1 cm deep in multipurpose at room, (my living room), temperature. I always get good germination. Interesting to see how all the different methods compare. Thank you Steve for trialling this. You are like me- getting the shivers when an air ambulance flys by. I always hope tdhat because of the air ambulance that whoever it is will be in good hands and will make a good recovery. Can't bear to think of anyone in pain or in distress. Happy gardening 😃
I'd say I was a big old softy but this is different really LOL I still cannot understand why the air ambulance is a charity - and one I support at every opportunity!
Great tips Steve, I loved this! The fragrance is just amazing. I soak mine overnight and use tall cups, the root trainers are also perfect for them 👌
Thanks for sharing, buddy. Looking forward to growing these, if they germiate LOL
Nice one Steve for the shout out and for doing this trial with the Sweet Peas, Steve at Greenside Up RIP he used to grow Sweet Peas every year and they were great, he used to cut them off and give them to his Wife.
It's rather a bit weird now watching one of his episodes to check on something. I have a packet of Sweet Pea seeds called 'Little Sweetheart Mixed' but i'll wait for your trial before they go in the Root Trainers, as my packet says to Soak for 12hrs and then sow 0.5cm deep in Trays of Moist Compost, weird how each one says differently.
Have a good week mate,
Barry (the Wirral)
Love it Barry - that makes it 9 different ways to sow sweet peas now LOL
Thanks again for the root trainers buddy 👍
I’ve grown Sweetpeas for years. Love them. They are the gift that keeps on giving. The more you pick, the more you get. I usually soak the seeds in very warm water for an hour then sow in root trainers. I use seed compost with vermiculite mixed in and top with vermiculite. I used to always sow them in the Autumn and overwinter. I have occasionally scratched the shell rather than soaking and have also sown without doing anything to them. I think it’s all much of a muchness to be honest. They eventually germinate anyways. It’ll be interesting to see what differences you find. I’m sowing in March for a change this time. Good luck with them Steve. Mags 🌸
Nice one Mags. To be honest, I am expecting them all to germinate but as you say - maybe one way will be a day or two different to the others.
Jeeeez, never realised there were so many ways! I just wont do them in Autumn again, that didnt work at all for me. In spring i just bung em in 😂 no soaking or scraping or rubbing!
Glad I could help! Sorry, glad i could confuse! LOL
@@DigwellGreenfingers haa haa, informative as always, Cheers Steve 😊
Hi Steve I've never grown them either 😂, I might do some this year if I remember to buy some seeds. A tip I heard a long time ago is to put sand paper inside a match box and rattle the seeds around to scarify them.👍👌🤠🙏
Good tip! Better than wearing away my fingernails LOL
How interesting! Also I never realised that Sweet Peas needed planting so soon, I need to get a move on.
October/November is popular with many growers!
😂😂 it stunned me that you've never grown them Steve! Nice to see a few different ways! Danny
Never been one for "flowers for flowers sake" buddy. More of a flowers to help me grow veg thing. But, if you can do it --- bring it on LOL
@@DigwellGreenfingers 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Glad you are doing this trial. When I sow sweet peas I have very hit and miss results. Thanks Steve and take care
Not really sure what to expect, San. I hope they all germinate though!
@@DigwellGreenfingers 🤞😄
Hi steve your love the sweet peas the scent is just devine, val loves having them, we tried different ways but start ours off October time for early flowers followed by second sowing if you want now for prolonged cropping and display of flowers .
Sounds great! If they grow for me (LOL) I may try this in Autumn, thanks!
I’ve tried them once, spent quite a bit at GW live on these amazing seeds. I followed the instructions (keep in fridge then scrape with a file). 1 germinated 😂
You devil, Kate!!!!!! 😈There's 6th way - in the fridge? I'll have to refilm it all LOL
Hi Steve, I sow my sweetpea seeds in October, (they flower earlier)for the last 2 seasons. Don't need to soak or nip the seed. Just sow them and they will be ok. I bought mine from the Chelsea show as recommended buy Steve ftom Greenside Up. Last season I grew a variety called Mammoth, again reccommened by Steve again & they were beautiful ❤ I'm growing mine in a single stem this season as a trial as when you prick out they grow more leaves and I had a mass of flowers ladt Year & took over completely. Love the fact that you haven't grown them before & impressed with your research too. Good luck & will be interesting to see how your trial goes. Thanks for sharing and take care 😊
Good luck with the single stems, Christine. Never grown them before so nver looked at that channel for advice 🙂
Looking forward to seeing how it goes, Steve. Best results for me (only that really worked ever haha) was past season. Seed pack said to plant seed outside as soon as ground can be worked. No soaking, and i had poor soil. They came up nicely.
Sounds great! Seven days so far with mine and still nothing on any of them - maybe I should stop watching them LOL
will be starting mine off this weekend. never pre soaked before and most germinate fine! its more about the nicking out that gets confusing at times!
we get the air ambulance over by us quite a bit what with being rural. a couple of years one landed in the field near us and found out one of the farm neighbours her husband had a heart attack but didn’t survive. they were quicker than the ambulance which did arrive about 10 mins later! very sad but support them alot because you never know!
interesting the various methods though, cheers Steve
Good luck Lisa, let us know how it goes with the swwet peas this year.
Yes, the air abmulance flies by here shockingly often. It lands cloes by too as there are a few sports fields about 1/2 mile from me. Never will understand why it is a charity and not NHS funded!
@@DigwellGreenfingers the village near us does a couple of tractor runs and raise money for the charity every time!
Ive got to brave the cold wind and get some multi purpose compost from the outbuilding to bring in so can start planting my seeds! brr
@@lisaskilton3746 Warming up today ready for the big storm tonight and the rain! I give in LOL
Soaking for a few hours helps them germinate a bit faster but overall is not needed. I push them down maybe 1 inch below the soil. Inoculate can be used also but I haven't noticed a difference. I have never nicked or used sandpaper. We'll see if you end up noticing any difference between the planting methods. I'm guessing you will be back in 3 to 4 weeks with some nice seedlings. I should add that in my Chicagoland area, I wouldn't start them until April. Your climate tends to be more mild than mine so, if you will mostly be above freezing by the time they go into the garden, you should be ok.
Yet another way of sowing them Steve LOL Many start theirs off on October here and leave them in a cold greenhouse over winter. Fingers crossed for me
😢😢😢😢 my sweet peas have frozen solid even under covers in the poly tunnel. So as soon as my foot of snow is gone and I can actually get to the poly tunnel I’ll sow more. I have those from our Greek take out and chit squash in them. Great to be in T-shirt weather I’m hiding from the cold 🥶, ⛄️⛄️⛄️, Ali 🇨🇦
It was 1°C Ali, so yes, tee shirt weather LOL Lucky the seeds were not too small 😂
the difference is Steve, a lot of seed companies source the seeds from places like Italy so the seed coat is hard. should you get some to germinate and save your own seeds ( just tie some wool around the stems you like (similar colour - you can loose labels) they won't be so hard so next year you can just some them straight away... there, I've edjumakaated ee. I've got mine to sow
Brilliant - never knew that but I guess it makes sense. Two year old seeds would be harder! Cheers
Hi Steve
Great experiment you doing there, will be interesting to see the results.
I have never had any success with sweet peas, they either do not germinate or die on me when they about a foot tall.
I have pinched the grow tip out on some and not the others but they still die on me.
Good luck with yours.
👍👍👍👍👍
Fingers crossed for me then Rob LOL Depending on how many germinate will determine part 2 of the trial!
Just started to soak our sweetpeas. Wasn’t going to grow them as last year when we brought them home, they had little black shiny bugs on them. Tricia wasn’t impressed 😂
Perhaps the bugs liked the sweetness 😂
@@DigwellGreenfingers I will grow some sour ones then 🤣🤣
@@DigwellGreenfingers oh do you have a video on how you made that Lego?? Dibber? I’ve searched and couldn’t find. The one for the small green trays 🙏🏼
@@TheRightPearPlot Only this, about 6:20 in: th-cam.com/video/r5ZtNsGAH9Q/w-d-xo.html
Timed this video just right I’ve got seeds that green side up would sow so I’m giving them ago a nod to his memory 🤞🤞
Brilliant - what method are you using Ann?
@@DigwellGreenfingers when I watched Steve’s video on sweet peas he half fills the trays and waters the compost then places two seeds to each module then tops up with dry compost on top and creates a capillary effect and covers with newspaper on the top and on the bottom and leaves to germinate then removes once germinated
@@annthomson-ewers2835 And that makes method number 8 so far LOL
@@DigwellGreenfingers haha well we have to see the results at the end 🤣
Interesting experiment. It will be fun to see the results.
It's like the old saying, "A watched pot never boils!" LOL 2 days and nothing ---- tapping finger on table
@@DigwellGreenfingers lol!
Hi Steve this is the first year I have not grown any I use to plant in pots in November and leave in my greenhouse all winter it worked
But the plants did not last long.
I could have come to sit on your fish tank to keep warm (been without a boiler for one week 🥶🥶🥶
Nightmare buddy! I take it you have fan heaters etc? I was the same some years ago - I bought a 2nd kettle to help with having a bath, but i quickly learned to use a lot less water! 🛀
@@DigwellGreenfingers fan heater log open fire so sitting in one room still can not complain boiler was 23 year’s old I think it’s out of warranty 😂😂😂
@@robertmeakings9774 Out of warranty - sounds like it ran on peat 🤣
Go with the person you most trust and have successfully grown them before 👍
And I reckon that will be the Sweet Pea Society. They'd look pretty stupid if they way does not work LOL
im so happy today i signed the agreement for my own allotment at the leaf and ground any advice for a firsttime allotment owner
Wonderful! Which plot are you on?
@DigwellGreenfingers 39 very first plot as u go in needs lots of work but looking forward to the challenge
@@kirkwilson72 I'd love that plot! Twice the size of the rest. My advice - do not rotavate! The previous 2 tenants did (repeatedly) and all this did was bring the dormant weed seeds to the surface over and over again. (which is why it looks like it does now!) Dock seeds can lie dormant for 80 years and the ones on your plot are not from freshly blown in seeds.
Every time you clear a patch, cover it until you use it (cardboard or weed membrane) - again something they did not do. See you up there one day when it warms up!
@DigwellGreenfingers yeah thanks for advice and im gunna start on it tomorrow, planning on going up Thursdays and fridays between 2-5 so may see you up there
@@kirkwilson72 Too cold for my liking LOL
Hi Steve be good to see results I've tried various ways over the years and settled for just sowing them straight into root trainers i stopped soaking as they're going into wet compost anyway and i stopped using sand paper or knife on the seeds because the following year in the bed where they where grown volunteers germinated from fallen seed pods without using this method now as them volunteers had lay outside all winter maybe i should try putting my new seeds in the fridge to replicate a winter
Sometimes, we need to step back and ask "How does Nature do it?" Some of the things I've tried may speed things up bay a day or two - we'll see - but does it matter?
Have a great week over there.
PS are you guys in for the #SSPC2024?
@@DigwellGreenfingers Steve I've all my tests done but still waiting for date to go in for open heart surgery so apart from sitting around i cant plan to much this year struggling to even hand weed at plot
@@ballysillanallotment-man5793 Sounds like a good excuse to me buddy! Hope all goes well for you 🤗
@@DigwellGreenfingers LOL if only Steve I'm really bored the Professor at hospital put me out of work on the sick not allowed to drive and i cant even walk to end of street i get light headed wish it was all over till i get back to normal never been out off work especially my job always busy
I was born in Yeovil 1956, are you near by ??
Just North of Bristol
it's easier to hold seeds with long nosed pliers steve.....................brian
Good tip! (if I ever do it that way in future - time will tell LOL)
Wrong time of year for Sweet Peas. You need to sow them around April or May
As I said, never grown them before so I was just following the advice on the various websites, as any novice would.
National Sweet Pea Society: "Sow seed in October, if in the south or midlands, or from January to February. Later sowings are possible if growing for garden decoration and cutting for the house."
It's a mine field LOL 💣
My money is on the pre soaked 😉😁
No idea here but they are all underground 15 mins ago
Input mine in toilet rolls filled with compost then when grown up inthe loo rolls burythem in the garden around the pea stick with wam I've been doing this for ages
Good tip, thanks! I had a poor show with loo rolls a few years ago on my runner beans. It turned out that the inside of the tube was lined with a sort of plastic film (very white) and the roots didn't spread out well. Okay going down and when I realised I just ripped the tube off.
@@DigwellGreenfingers when I did this withthe loo rolls I put them on a tray inmy window which gets warm inthe summer