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Starting your Sweet Peas

No ladies and gentlemen this particular article is not referring to Olive Oyls baby Sweet Pea but rather the ever popular flowering annual found in many home gardens. In this quick article I would like to explain to you how to effortlessly propagate these beautiful flowers to compliment your other colorful plants and garden flowers.

First we must keep in mind that Sweet Peas commonly grow best when they are sowed directly into your garden area. You need not start them indoors under artificial light but merely sow the small seeds exactly where you wish to see them grow.

Give your Sweet Pea bed a location that will receive full sun and create their bed from very rich, moist and loamy soil. To this bed, add plenty of fresh organic matter such as compost or well rotted manure in order to enrich the soil to the sweet peas liking.

Actually, now would be the best time to establish your Sweet Peas as they enjoy the cooler temperatures. Out in the west the sweet pea could easily be sown around the month of August. Be sure however, that the hard frost is over in your area of the country.

This will ensure that your sweet peas do not get killed off due to a surprise freeze. They may be a hardy type of flower but those harsh freezes can still eliminate your hard work and your newly established sweet pea plants. Sweet peas particularly enjoy the cooler night temperatures of late winter than would your other garden flowers.

Similarly in the plains states, your sweet peas can be sown after the harshest weather has passed. On the other hand, those of you who reside in our lovely southern states should sow your Sweet pea seed during the months of November or December. This will ensure you plenty of fresh spring flowers. For the remainder of the country sow the seed as soon as the ground has thawed, this should be around April.

Your sweet peas will require approximately 50 days of less than 60 degree temperatures to successfully bloom in your garden. Since a sweet pea seed has a hard pod coating you may find it advantageous to nicking the outside coating to permit rapid hydration for the seed. This will also speed the germination process drastically. You can nick your seeds easily using a finger nail clipper to slightly score the pod. For proper germination maintain your soil temperature at between 55 and 65 F.

When planting the seeds make certain that the garden holes are about two inches deep. Drop approximately three seeds into each hole, spacing the holes six inches apart. Water the soil and keep it moist until you visually verify that the seeds have commenced to sprout.

Germination should usually take place within 15 to 20 days. Once your seedlings begin to grow water them regularly. When your seedlings reach a height of three inches, thin them out. Leave only the strongest and healthiest looking plants. If you sow the seeds weekly over a period of several weeks you will be able to extend your actual enjoyment time of your sweet peas.

Learn more about this author, Joseph Parish.
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