![]() If you’ve used tubes, plant the whole tube to full depth. Plant out to final flowering positions as soon as weather and soil conditions are suitable - from early March in the south of Britain, to late March in the north. They need protection from mice and extra insulation if the weather is extremely cold. Once seedlings have appeared, grow on “hard” with no heat. These generally make a stronger stem that the original main shoot. When the plants have 4 pairs of leaves, pinch out the growing point with the top set of leaves to encourage side shoots. The first shoots should appear within 7-10 days depending on pre-germination and temperature. The compost should be damp but not wet – our test is that if a few crumbs of soil stick to your fingers when pressed gently on the soil, it’s damp enough. ![]() Cover the seeds with fine compost to fill the hole. If you are using the pre-germination method, it is best to use tweezers to prevent damage to the seed while transplanting. Using a cane or pencil make a hole about 1.5-2cm deep and put in the seed. Water the compost to fill this 1cm space, and then leave to drain. Fill with container with compost, gently firming to within 1cm of the top. Alternatively you can sow into deep flowerpots or sow several seeds round the edge of a wider flowerpot. Rolled-up newspaper or the cardboard tubes from toilet rolls or kitchen rolls will substitute. We sow into sweet pea tubes or root-trainers for ease of handling and to avoid damage to the long roots when transplanting. If there are seeds that have not swollen, use a sharp knife or file to make a small hole in the seed coat and return the seed to the damp paper. Within 4-7 days the seeds will produce the small shoots of the root and growing tip – at this point the seeds are ready to be planted into compost. Check the seeds after 2 days and you should see that they have swollen up. Place the seeds on top of the damp paper, put the lid on and place the box in a warm place – a boiler or airing cupboard is ideal. Add enough water to make the kitchen towel fully damp but without any standing water. Fold a double piece of kitchen towel to fit inside the plastic box. You will require a plastic box with a lid – a sandwich box, Tupperware or takeaway food tub will be suitable. For best results we recommend planting in the autumn (Sep-Nov) or winter (Jan-Feb) using the following method: Pre-germination In the UK Sweet Peas can be planted indoors from September and outside during March and April. For growing in countries other than the UK, please adapt these instructions for your local climate. Everything has a germination of at least 85%. ![]() A copy of these Growing Instructions is included with every order.Īll the sweet pea seeds that we sell have been tested for germination at our premises near Maldon, Essex.
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