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The seeds have usually germinated within a couple of weeks. We cover the trays with a plastic dome as mice like to dig up the seeds for dinner.

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We usually obtain quite good germination and all the seeds that have germinated are allowed to grow on undisturbed.

 

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If we were growing flowers for show the seedlings would be thinned out one to a pot but we are just aiming for bunches of flowers to have in the house.

 

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Once the young plants start to grow, and are at the stage shown above., the next job is to  snip out the growing tips to make the plant bush out. 'Serious' growers wouldn't do this as they want the plantlets to produce one single long stem whereas we want the plant to produce lots of flowers. Those who are trying to produce show specimens would also remove all the plant's tendrils so that all the plants energies go into producing long stemmed flowers. If tendrils are removed the plants are grown as cordons and tied into bamboo canes.

 

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Before we plant the sweet peas we prepare a trench which is them filled with compost; our clay soil isn't the most hospitable of growing medium for young plants. We plant each group of seedlings in a module together as we would if iit were a single plant.

 

We have a couple of hazel bushes that are regularly coppiced and provide us with a supply of hazel piles and twigs with which we make a support frame. As sweet peas cling on with tendrils they can't climb up canes or poles and so we intertwine the hazel pole with twiggy pieces of hazel which the tendrils can grasp.

 

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Sweet peas are very thirsty plants and so we make sure that throughout the growing season we keep them well watered. If the plants become too dry they will succumb to mildew.

 

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It's important to keep cutting the flowers or failing that dead head the flowers before they have the chance to set seed. Once the plants are allowed to set seeds they will stop flowering. At times we have sweet peas in most rooms of the house where they act as natural air fresheners.

 

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We find that gradually over the growing season flower stems become shorter but we have, in a favourable growing season, picked a few flowers into October.