Sweet peas are the epitome of scented summer blooms, and now is the perfect time to sow seeds, so flower farmer Georgie Newbery offers growing tips and recommends her favourites
PHOTOGRAPHS JASON INGRAM
A stand of sweet peas is an irresistible addition to any summer garden, planted to grow up teepees, scramble over pergolas, fill pots or (my favourite) grow in rows, potager style, in a cut-flower patch.
I started my cut-flower business by selling bunches of sweet peas from a barrow in the lane in front of my house, and I wouldn’t be without them. I love their scent as well as their crepe de chine frilliness, and although they aren’t wow-factor flowers, they are great when cut, as each one is individual perfection. My clients love them tumbling out of wedding bouquets, tight in table posies or dotted about the house in handfuls.
Sow after the autumn equinox and your seed will germinate slowly and sit quietly. Plants will develop strong root systems through the winter, so that when you plant them out in the spring they can romp away, growing tall and producing long stems in early summer. Seedlings will survive a winter in cool greenhouse, polytunnel or even a protected spot outside. If you sow after Christmas, the closer you sow to the summer solstice, the shorter your plants will be, with later flowers.
On my cut-flower farm, I sow one crop in early October, and another in early February. The October sowing can flower in the polytunnel as early as late April. The February sowing is planted outside and flowers from late June and through July.
I sow my seeds into free-draining, peat-free compost, one seed per module, a knuckle deep. I use Rootrainer modules, which come in a special deep version ideal for sweet peas, and put them somewhere light and cool to germinate, covering the trays with a clear lid to protect from mice. If you grow your sweet peas in these Rootrainers, then they won’t need potting on before planting out.
If you sow your sweet pea seeds in a normal seed tray or a few to a pot, it’s a good idea to pot them on into individual pots so that their root systems can grow unencumbered by a neighbour. Pot on after the pinching out phase (see page 52).
Before you plant out your sweet peas, give them a fortnight to harden off, outside of the greenhouse or protected space whe
