Planting sweet peas

I am going to plant sweet peas in one of my raised beds today. I soaked them last night. I had ordered my seed from Territorial. Any special tricks I should know? I am so inconsistent with sweet peas. I am in the Willamette Valley of Oregon and our weather has been great. I think sometimes they rot? Tell me your experience with sweet peas.

Hi Lenjo!

Wish I could tell you the tricks, but I could use a few myself! This will be my first year to try them. I bought some last year and forgot to plant them (oops!) So I'm trying again this year.

I have found staring them inside in like little peat pots then planting the pot and all later outside. I have the darn squirrels come and eat every one. When the little plant gets a couple of inches tall I bring it out to a warmer sheltered spot then plant is in it's spot. I love sweet peas and I think now is the time. Maybe try some outside and some like in a cool garage protected from mice. Good luck and let us know what works. Heidi and dragonfly

You can nick them or soak them - but if the weather turns rainy, they can rot. I nick mine & give them a quick soak, plant them in individual pots & set out with a cover when they sprout. They can be planted in situ & will germinate as the soil warms.
I have successfully planted some in late dry winters, and had good results. But the best has been to start in pots & transplant after the last frost date. Be sure to protect them from the birds & squirrels, though. They like to pull them up - for bragging rights & street cred, most likely.

Hey Lenjo! I have grown sweet peas since I was a kid. Easisier than growing weeds. My Grandparents lived in Newport and they had them every year in there garden. Now is perfect time to plant them. Have fun and just wait till summer!This year I am trying Captain of the Blues sweet peas from Burpees. Will let you know how they do.

well, I did plant them today into a raised bed that I dug up and hauled compost and sawdust into. The soil was nice and fluffy. I did soak them overnight but didn't nick them which I had heard about but was just too lazy to spend what I thought would take a good bit of time. So here's keeping my fingers crossed.

If you are using a raised bed, have you thought of making a wire like lid I did this to my raised beds mostly to keep the cats out but should work for birds to.
I think this is the right one, I have spacers to raise it if needed. These beds have not been tilled or worked yet just fitting the screens.

This message was edited Feb 23, 2008 10:37 PM

tillysrat, I don't have too much trouble with animals bothering things just the usual slugs and those are manageable. I see good old horsetail in your bed. I do have that and it is out in our fields too especially on the one end. My hubby battles it in our commercial berry fields. We just did a major tiling job last winter on one field and planted hazelnuts after having berries in there for 30 plus years so I will be curious to see how vigorously the horsetail returns. It is so prevalent in wet ground that doesn't get worked and always in the berry rows it was pretty vigorous.

i live in bama, and i always start mine inside. i have better luck that way. mine are 6 inches tall right now

My experience (which is limited with sweet peas) is that when I started them indoors they always (ALWAYS!) would get very leggy, and then really didn't like being transplanted. And now, in order to keep the deer from munching on them, I direct sow them into hanging containers. Instead of trellising up, the hang down very nicely, and they smell so wonderful! And these baskets are near the front entrance to the house, so that's a real plus....

Sanna

Lenjo, I am planting them too, I have planted them inside in plantable pots and I will plant them outside the second week in March. If they get leggy you need to pinch them back a bit for a bushier look anyway so no bic deal...I always pinch them back for more bloom. It just isn't a great spring without the smell of sweet peas!

Sanna,

How long do your peas get in containers?

Sounds like I should get some of those plantable pots and plant them soon-like today.

I planted some of the supposedly shorter varieties, and they sprawled down about 4-5 feet. This year I really overplanted the pot with hopes of lots of bushiness. I did the nick & soak thing to them.

4-5 ft could be really pretty. I've been trying to think of something different and easy for my hanging baskets this year.

Oh you're all that! I'm planting mine in the ground tommmorow , just put a little mulch on top!

Hi Joann,
I have planted sweet peas the past 4 years here. Have tried different ways.
I plant them going North to South on the East side of a fence. They don't like the heat so this works well with shade in the afternoon.

A couple years, sowed them in Feb. and they did okay. Slugs just love them so watch out.

Another year, I sowed them in Dec. and that wasn't the greatest. Not that many came up and I am assuming due to the slugs. They were in good soil so.......

Last year, I tried something new. I glued the seeds like 1/2" apart on like computer paper in strips. Like 10 rows per computer paper. Just put a dot of glue, put a seed in it, let it dry, and cut apart the strips.This method seemed to work pretty well. I also keep the slugs baited better too. Was also kind of easy to just plant the strips too. This way you make sure you don't plant them too deep.

This year, I haven't sowed them yet. Am so so late doing it.

But if you have raised beds and keep the slugs out, you will be fine. I have never soaked mine since I figure we get enough rain to soak them.
Also, never have nicked them. Don't have time for that. If they don't grow, I am not going to waste my precious time with a file on the seeds!

P.S. which bed are you planting them in???
Carol

Hi Carol, I planted them in one of my four raised beds , these are out by my GH and grapes. I have one raised bed full of asparagus; the others I usually plant head lettuce and walla walla sweets. Last year I tried parsnips and in one and had great luck. I still have two ; one for lettuce and one for ww onions. My son in law has a cousin who I also know from school days is getting married at the end of June and so I told her I would try to raise some.

Hey,Carol, I have to show you my latest pride and joy.
This is my first grand, a girl, Bernadette. My favorite little flower of all, much less a sweet pea.

This message was edited Feb 24, 2008 7:50 PM

They can be "nicked" with a sharp knife point, or abraid the surface of the seedcoat by running an emery board across it a couple/few times - it's pretty fast, actually.
We get plenty of rain, so they don't require soaking - all you're trying to do is weaken the seed coat to enable them to sprout.
Mine are always grown in full sun, but I always plant other flowers with them for cutting. They work nicely in hanging containers & the length depends on whether you've selected the Bush or Vining types.
My experience is that they perform best with rich soil that drains well.
My only complaint is that the individual flowers are not big enough to stick my face into!

Oh, Joann, how exciting! A grandbaby! Congratulations!!! Enjoy!!!