Hello Friends, today I am sharing the article I wrote for our local paper, Cameron Chronicle.. "The Little Paper with Personality."
Sweet Peas
By Carla TePaske of Cameron, WI ~ The Little Garden That Could
Sweet peas are the perfect flower if you are looking to add fragrance and romance to your garden.
Sweet peas have a hard seed coat. To aid germination you may find it helpful to leave the seeds in a small saucer of water for 24 hours before sowing.
Sweet peas do not like to have their roots messed with. An easy way to sow sweet peas early in the house is to use a rootrainer or a toilet paper roll. They are ideal as they provide a deep, narrow area for the root to run. If you choose to use the toilet paper roll, you can plant it right into the ground when you are ready to plant out your sweet peas.
When
there are three or four pairs of leaves, pinch out the leaders –
just squeeze off the growing tip between your finger and thumb. This
promotes vigorous side shoot formation, with the energy of the plant
directed toward growing out, not up.
Check your plants regularly
and water them lightly if the surface begins to look dry. About a
month from germination, check the bottom of the pot for white
roots.
When potting out make
sure you plant your sweet peas alongside a vertical support such as a
tee-pee, an arch or a tunnel. Plant 2 plants to each rod of a
vertical support.
As the young sweet pea plants begin to grow, tie them into the frame – don’t leave them to flop around. They’ll grow more quickly and make stronger plants tied in regularly.
Feed and water your sweet peas. They are hungry plants and do not like to dry out.
You can let your flowers go to seed and collect the seed pods in the Autumn. Let the seeds dry out for a few months and store in a labeled envelope. The seeds that you collected may vary slightly from the parent, especially if you grew a mix of varieties. You will have created your very own unique sweet pea.
Until next time, happy gardening!
Another interesting article. And I never would have thought of using a toilet paper roll! Sweet Peas are indeed so sweet and kind of old fashioned. And your photo is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful blog
ReplyDeleteThe sweet peas are so pretty, Carla. I love these purple colors. You always write such a thorough and thoughtful article for your town newspaper. I'm sure they are so helpful to the community. : )
ReplyDelete~Sheri
a great article and very informative. The toilet paper roll is great advice. Looks like I may have waited too late to plant here in Texas. What I read on the Texas A & M sight is that they should be planted in Fall around here. Maybe next year.
ReplyDeleteGosh I have not heard of sweet peas in forever. My mom had them at the house we grew pin. Very fragrant indeed. Janice
ReplyDeleteLove these bloomers! And the name is so perfect for them, too. Nice article. :)
ReplyDeleteClever about the toilet paper roll for the sweet peas. They are a very sweet and delicate flower. Have a great week. Hugs. Kris
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous happy little flower. Fascinating article! xoxo
ReplyDeleteSweet Peas are a pretty flower.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your article.
All the best Jan