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How to grow sweet peas

BY READERS DIGEST

1st Jan 2015 Home & Garden

How to grow sweet peas
Sweet peas are a beautiful and colourful addition to any garden. Learn how to grow them here.

Preparation

  • Soak seeds overnight in water and plant them 2 inches (5.1cm) deep in cool garden soil that has been deeply dug and amended with organic matter, such as compost.

Planting

  • Time the planting of sweet peas to take advantage of cool weather. Planting can begin as soon as the soil can be worked in late winter and early spring. 
  • Alternatively, you can jump-start the season by sowing seeds indoors in late winter, using individual pots. Keep the soil barely moist and grow the seedlings on a sunny, cool window sill.
  • Transplant them into the garden 2 weeks before your last frost date. Handle seedlings gently, planting peat pot and all, and disturb the roots as little as possible.
  • Mulch the soil around the roots with a 3-inch (7.6cm) thick layer of chopped dried leaves, straw, or shredded bark to keep the roots cool and moist. Install a trellis early on and help the young plants find support if their own search falters.
  • Pick off spent flowers to encourage continued flowering. If you see the small, pear-shaped, sap-sucking insects known as green flies clustered on the leaf undersides of new growth, knock them off the plant with a forceful water spray.
 

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