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Sweet peas being slow
NewbieGardenerSW17
Posts: 10
In March I sowed sweetpeas in seed trays, planting out in mid April when the seedlings were about 3" tall. They have barely shown any growth at all since. They are planted in 2 batches in NW facing beds close to the sprinklers in each & I have fed twice with seaweed fertiliser. My lovely iron climbing frames remain folornly bare, and the plants are flopping about, only an inch or two longer, on the ground. Any advice?
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It'll depend where you are, but when I plant mine out, they're bigger than that, and they still don't grow much until mid to late May at least, because it simply isn't warm enough. They don't really get going properly until June
They also need good hearty growing conditions, with rotted manure, or similar, added to the pots or the ground, plus slow release food, or regular feeds of something like tomato food. Seaweed isn't much use.
Next time, wait until later before planting out, and until they're bigger and stronger. Use a better growing medium, and forget the seaweed.
The aspect is fine. They don't actually need huge amounts of sun - just warmth and plenty of moisture.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It's also why people struggle to keep them going at all in hotter, drier areas.
They get stressed very easily- if they can't get enough moisture especially, and rush to flower and produce seed, so they can be very short lived. Even in heavy rain, it's hard for that rain to get into the roots properly, so a really good medium is necessary, especially if potted.
I grow most of mine in pots, because they get annihilated by slugs if planted in borders. There's only one little area that works well, and it's a small raised bed. The open borders are no use at all.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...