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Post by farmersboy on Jul 18, 2007 7:21:14 GMT
essexgirl,i don't think theres any need to buy expensive special varietys,just go to the garden centre and buy a few pkts of mixed colours,they all smell nice.I only do this every 3 years as i save my own seed for the other years.It is more important to sow in the autumn,and in the spring,feed, feed, feed.
John
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Post by Chuckles on Jul 18, 2007 9:17:34 GMT
As sweetpeas have been broadly a 'hit' this year maybe we could do a trial... pick a single widely available variety - maybe from Matthewmans - and sow half in the autumn and half in the spring?
OM. What a fab idea OM I'm game. Just say the word and I'm sure there will be loads of takers for a Sweetpea trial  I bet the recently converted Andy will be up for it to  |
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Post by andy on Jul 18, 2007 10:02:34 GMT
I bought my sweetpeas as germinated plants this year.....99p for a pot of around 15 seedlings and no "hit and miss" attempts at germination. Much easier ;D
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Post by Pip on Jul 18, 2007 11:47:35 GMT
Well that is certainly one way of doing it Andy, must say that I prefer to have the joy of saying that I have grown them.
Pip
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Post by JennyWrenn on Jul 18, 2007 20:35:18 GMT
Never heard of Matthewmans OMS - r u still a cylinder by the way That post made me laugh so much - tears rolled down my cheeks Sorry to bring it up jenny x |
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Post by oldmoleskins on Jul 18, 2007 20:49:57 GMT
Never heard of Matthewmans OMS - r u still a cylinder by the way That post made me laugh so much - tears rolled down my cheeks Sorry to bring it up jenny x Well, the Matthewmans 'connection' was on page one: www.sweetpeasonline.co.uk/and noooo, JW, not quite a cylinder now... have been attempting to get that under control and have new, astounding sartorial disclosures which I may get round to over the next few days... OM. |
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Post by Rosefriend on Jul 19, 2007 12:42:00 GMT
As sweetpeas have been broadly a 'hit' this year maybe we could do a trial... pick a single widely available variety - maybe from Matthewmans - and sow half in the autumn and half in the spring? OM. Well I am game to try this but I am really not sure how I am supposed to do it. Now then, I have decided to get the largest plastic greenhouse and put it on the terrace for the winter and the odd plant that is more sensitive than the others can go in. All well and good but it will be a hot and cold situation- i.e. if the sun shines it will warm up a lot on the terrace and then could go back down to way under freezing. There isn't room for the GH anywhere else though. Just how hardy are sweetpeas because I don't think that they have a chance unless we have a winter like last year and 2 in one row will be pushing it a bit. RF |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2007 12:49:08 GMT
I tried last year starting my sweet peas off in November and, like you RF, stuck them in a plastic greenhouse on the patio. They were growing in RootTrainers. They did okay and survived through to Spring, but unfortunately the were all tangled up and I gave up and resowed them. Maybe I'm a bit lazy that way, but I just feel it's not worth sowing them in Autumn and overwintering them when Spring ones do just as well, but I am not an expert.
My only other gripe is that unless you have the time to go and cut the flowers every day, they can quite quickly create the seed pods and after that the flowers stop. Again, maybe I'm just being lazy. I do agree though that if you have the time and patience with them, they are worth it for the scent, but they just seem like too much hard work to me.
Are there any types that don't go to seed so quick?
DG
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Post by jean on Jul 20, 2007 18:23:25 GMT
The Autumn sown seeds on a neighbours plot are really strong compared to my spring sown ones DG and they have been just left to their own devices as the plot isn't well tended. IMO they are definitely worth growing for the scent alone, though they do need a bit of looking after |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2007 22:00:27 GMT
Thanks Jlottie. Is there any 'best way' of sowing Autumn sweet peas if done in Root Trainers? Like I said originally, mine just tended to get all tangled up with each other and where virtually impossible to separate hence my giving up. It did give me some interest over the winter month's admittedly, but they just got too leggy in Spring to be manageable for me.
Any advice please? Thanks.
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Post by Spruance on Jul 20, 2007 22:45:30 GMT
Thanks Jlottie. Is there any 'best way' of sowing Autumn sweet peas if done in Root Trainers? Like I said originally, mine just tended to get all tangled up with each other and where virtually impossible to separate hence my giving up. It did give me some interest over the winter month's admittedly, but they just got too leggy in Spring to be manageable for me. Any advice please? Thanks. I always sow my sweet peas in the autumn DG. Have a look at this |
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Post by jean on Jul 21, 2007 6:41:50 GMT
The sweetpeas on the neighbouring plot are sown direct into the ground where they will grow. Think I might try this too as well as some undercover like Spru.
Farmersboy's sweetpeas are autumn sown, I wonder how he does his?
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Post by farmersboy on Jul 23, 2007 6:31:44 GMT
jlottie,dg,Isow mine direct into the ground early Nov,should not be a problem for you dg,liveing in Kent.Ive been growing them that way for over 20 yrs and i always get good results,see my pics on page 1.
John
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Post by davidk on Jul 23, 2007 8:26:29 GMT
"Just how hardy are sweetpeas because I don't think that they have a chance unless we have a winter like last year and 2 in one row will be pushing it a bit.
RF"
Hi rosefriend!
Sweet peas are extremely hardy & will withstand temperatures as low as -8C.
In fact, pampering them will almost certainly result in weak & straggly specimens.
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Post by Rosefriend on Jul 23, 2007 8:35:18 GMT
Well that sounds good to me David - thanks.
If I have the GH on the terrace and use a load of fleece there is a chance that they would stand a bad winter - minus 18 - 20. Pity we can't see into the future and see what kind of weather we will be getting .
I definitely think that it is worth a try. I am interested to see what will happen. Thanks
RF
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Post by davidk on Jul 23, 2007 11:41:43 GMT
Rosefriend!
To clarify, in view of your reply. I would qualify what I said by saying that -8C is about as low as we would expect in my part of the world and they survive that without any problem at all.
I would imagine they could cope with colder conditions, although I haven't put them to that kind of test.
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Post by Rosefriend on Jul 23, 2007 16:49:51 GMT
Yes David, I did misundersrood you about the temperatures.
Well at least another test - what kind of temperatures can sweet peas really stand.
I will leave at least one of the plants unprotected and just for the laugh of it see what happens.
Thanks a lot.
RF
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I bet the recently converted Andy will be up for it to 
