Hi David, Thank you very much for this thread & all the advice. My October sown seedlings are doing great. 4 sets of leaves & side shoots. Can I plant out now for early flowering or should I wait a bit longer? oops sorry message sent twice when registering on forum. Only need one answer if you have time. Thank you
Welcome to our forum, Maggie,well done with those sweet peas.....they sound just about ideal.
Like everyone else, I'm trying to make sense of our crazy weather, as it determines the best time to plant out.
I would offer a couple of pointers, if a) they are fully hardened-off ie have not been subject to any heat (other than for germination) and kept in a coldframe or similar, b) the soil is not waterlogged you could safely plant out now.
I would hang back for another couple of weeks on clay soil.
Yes thank you it really helps having an experienced bit of advice, which I am going to follow. I am growing cordon method. Do you think I need to put netting over to stop pigeons & rabbits eating my precious (300) seedlings? Its a great forum & I have read every message both on this & the old thread. So good to have such great guidance!!
Having grown sweet pea plants bought from the local Garden Centre successfully for the last two years and having read a lot on this thread I decided to try the seeds given away with GW magazine. Oh Dear. So far (15 days) I have two seedlings. I did read somewhere complaints about the quality of the seed but I can't find that post again.( I'm just new to the Forum).Can't decide whether to sow the remaining seed or to wait and buy plants.
Sorry to hear this, Anne. A recurring theme of this (and preceding threads on the subject) is to buy the best quality seed you can afford.
Having said that, I'm optimistic there is hope for your seed, so don't give up just yet. Depending on the temperature of soil/compost, germination usually takes between 7 and 21 days......21 days being preferable as 7 days would indicate the germination temperature being too warm and may result in leggy/weak seedlings.
I planted Sugar & Spice s.pea seeds about 10 days ago and they are only just showing through the soil - cold GH. I had expected them to germinate more quickly. Last year was the first time that I had sown any sweet peas and they were inside on a heated window cill - so can't really compare. We are lacking sunshine over here this year which doesn't help with germination.
Posts
Hi David, Thank you very much for this thread & all the advice. My October sown seedlings are doing great. 4 sets of leaves & side shoots. Can I plant out now for early flowering or should I wait a bit longer? oops sorry message sent twice when registering on forum. Only need one answer if you have time. Thank you
Welcome to our forum, Maggie,well done with those sweet peas.....they sound just about ideal.
Like everyone else, I'm trying to make sense of our crazy weather, as it determines the best time to plant out.
I would offer a couple of pointers, if a) they are fully hardened-off ie have not been subject to any heat (other than for germination) and kept in a coldframe or similar, b) the soil is not waterlogged you could safely plant out now.
I would hang back for another couple of weeks on clay soil.
Hope that helps.
Yes thank you it really helps having an experienced bit of advice, which I am going to follow. I am growing cordon method. Do you think I need to put netting over to stop pigeons & rabbits eating my precious (300) seedlings? Its a great forum & I have read every message both on this & the old thread. So good to have such great guidance!!
Good luck with growing by using the cordon method, Maggie....very labour intensive, but rewarding with exhibition quality blooms. I'll help if needed
Regarding your plants being attacked by vermin. To be honest, only you will be able to assess the problem, but if in doubt, protect them.
Remember slugs & snails are a big risk.
Bumping up for new queries
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Bumping up again for Sophie and anyone else needing help with their S Peas
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Having grown sweet pea plants bought from the local Garden Centre successfully for the last two years and having read a lot on this thread I decided to try the seeds given away with GW magazine. Oh Dear. So far (15 days) I have two seedlings. I did read somewhere complaints about the quality of the seed but I can't find that post again.( I'm just new to the Forum).Can't decide whether to sow the remaining seed or to wait and buy plants.
Sorry to hear this, Anne. A recurring theme of this (and preceding threads on the subject) is to buy the best quality seed you can afford.
Having said that, I'm optimistic there is hope for your seed, so don't give up just yet. Depending on the temperature of soil/compost, germination usually takes between 7 and 21 days......21 days being preferable as 7 days would indicate the germination temperature being too warm and may result in leggy/weak seedlings.
Mine took two weeks and look
I planted Sugar & Spice s.pea seeds about 10 days ago and they are only just showing through the soil - cold GH. I had expected them to germinate more quickly. Last year was the first time that I had sown any sweet peas and they were inside on a heated window cill - so can't really compare. We are lacking sunshine over here this year which doesn't help with germination.