David K, Your replies have been a lot of help, so thanks. My sweetpeas are in a small leanto cold greenhouse, doing reasonably well and I've started pinching out.
I note what you say about cold draughts and I've been sliding the doors open for a few inches each day for ventilation - would this constitute a draught do you think or is it okay? It can get quite windy here, although the greenhouse is in the courtyard where it's more sheltered.
Hi, Lizzie, thank you for your kind comment....it doesn't always happen but a simple thank you is appreciated.
Quite honestly if those doors we left open day & night they wouldn't come to any harm, but as for cold draughts, only you will be able to tell.
I'm very much against pampering sweet peas at any stage (it's counter productive) but I will admit to erecting wind-breaks to protect from icy March winds when planting out.
Thanks David K. I think ventilation is perhaps more important so I'll carry on as usual. I only found out this year that sweet peas should be grown hard and cold so it will be interesting to find out if they're better later in the year.
Hello everybody , reading this reminded me that last year for the first time I planted sweet peas in toilet tubes in the green house and then planted them in large boxes at the allotment - disaster - they did not grow much , in fact pathetic !
Normally I just put the seeds in the ground and they grow well , so David K , I think you are right be mean with them
Hi David i agree with what you are saying although i started mine off in a heated propogater and as soon as the seedlings began to show i put them in my cold green house they are growing happily in 3 inch pots i am waiting for 4 true double leaves then i will pinch out to encourage side growth .and i will fingers crossed have a nice display this year
I think as with all gardening techniques, we do, and are wise to do whatever works for us as individuals. I just try to pass on what has worked for me over many years.
I think I've mentioned this before, it is quite acceptable to sow your sweet pea seed directly into the open ground in the autumn and provided you protect them against slugs, snails & icy winds, they will grow fine.
Evening Far too many posts on here now to catch up with everything and I well and truly missed the boat on Autumn sowings........my good intentions never seem to go to plan!! Anyway, thankfully Mark asked my question so I will hang on until March......I must be patient.....I must be patient, oh and NOT mollycoddle (not sure how to spell that LOL but David will know what I mean!!)
Hi David i agree with what you are saying although i started mine off in a heated propogater and as soon as the seedlings began to show i put them in my cold green house they are growing happily in 3 inch pots i am waiting for 4 true double leaves then i will pinch out to encourage side growth .and i will fingers crossed have a nice display this year
Thank you, Wills.....I would say however, you must have been lucky in having a mild spell of weather when you transferred them.
I've got my sweet peas (and some other autumn-sown things) growing on a a little make-shift cold frame made up of a wooden box, lined with bubble wrap, and covered with some horticultural fleece, to keep the air circulation. They've been doing fairly well, but we had a week or so of pretty hard frost where it never went above freezing even during the day, and now we're into a freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw pattern. Some of the sweet peas look fine, but some have gone all floppy, and the stems appear almost crushed.
I imagine they got thirsty when their soil was frozen. Now, the soil is fairly dry, so my question is, should I water, or will that do more harm than good, given that we'll be having more hard frosts?
Watering is something you have to play by ear really, under-watering be preferable to overwatering. To be honest, I don't water very often at all during the winter, when I do, I try to choose a time when a few frost-free nights are expected....the object being to prevent the roots being encased in a block of ice.
The object at this time is to just keep them marking time until the spring growth begins.
Posts
David K, Your replies have been a lot of help, so thanks. My sweetpeas are in a small leanto cold greenhouse, doing reasonably well and I've started pinching out.
I note what you say about cold draughts and I've been sliding the doors open for a few inches each day for ventilation - would this constitute a draught do you think or is it okay? It can get quite windy here, although the greenhouse is in the courtyard where it's more sheltered.
Hi, Lizzie, thank you for your kind comment....it doesn't always happen but a simple thank you is appreciated.
Quite honestly if those doors we left open day & night they wouldn't come to any harm, but as for cold draughts, only you will be able to tell.
I'm very much against pampering sweet peas at any stage (it's counter productive) but I will admit to erecting wind-breaks to protect from icy March winds when planting out.
Thanks David K. I think ventilation is perhaps more important so I'll carry on as usual. I only found out this year that sweet peas should be grown hard and cold so it will be interesting to find out if they're better later in the year.
Hello everybody , reading this reminded me that last year for the first time I planted sweet peas in toilet tubes in the green house and then planted them in large boxes at the allotment - disaster - they did not grow much , in fact pathetic !
Normally I just put the seeds in the ground and they grow well , so David K , I think you are right be mean with them
Hi David i agree with what you are saying although i started mine off in a heated propogater and as soon as the seedlings began to show i put them in my cold green house they are growing happily in 3 inch pots i am waiting for 4 true double leaves then i will pinch out to encourage side growth .and i will fingers crossed have a nice display this year
I think as with all gardening techniques, we do, and are wise to do whatever works for us as individuals. I just try to pass on what has worked for me over many years.
I think I've mentioned this before, it is quite acceptable to sow your sweet pea seed directly into the open ground in the autumn and provided you protect them against slugs, snails & icy winds, they will grow fine.
Evening
Far too many posts on here now to catch up with everything and I well and truly missed the boat on Autumn sowings........my good intentions never seem to go to plan!! Anyway, thankfully Mark asked my question so I will hang on until March......I must be patient.....I must be patient, oh and NOT mollycoddle (not sure how to spell that LOL but David will know what I mean!!)
Thank you, Wills.....I would say however, you must have been lucky in having a mild spell of weather when you transferred them.
Hi David,
I've got my sweet peas (and some other autumn-sown things) growing on a a little make-shift cold frame made up of a wooden box, lined with bubble wrap, and covered with some horticultural fleece, to keep the air circulation. They've been doing fairly well, but we had a week or so of pretty hard frost where it never went above freezing even during the day, and now we're into a freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw pattern. Some of the sweet peas look fine, but some have gone all floppy, and the stems appear almost crushed.
I imagine they got thirsty when their soil was frozen. Now, the soil is fairly dry, so my question is, should I water, or will that do more harm than good, given that we'll be having more hard frosts?
Thanks a lot!
Hi, ommthree
Watering is something you have to play by ear really, under-watering be preferable to overwatering. To be honest, I don't water very often at all during the winter, when I do, I try to choose a time when a few frost-free nights are expected....the object being to prevent the roots being encased in a block of ice.
The object at this time is to just keep them marking time until the spring growth begins.