Sowing sweet peas

Now is the ideal time to sow sweet peas. They’re relatively easy and cheap to grow and there’s so much to choose from too.
 
It’s best to sow them now into small pots or around three to four inches in diameter. The seeds will only stay in these pots for a few weeks before you plant them out.

You should use a potting compost and place the seeds around 1cm below the surface. You can fit roughly 10 seeds in a pot, nicely spaced out. You should then water them with tepid tap water.

The seeds need moisture, warmth and natural light in order to germinate and grow so a greenhouse, conservatory or a sunny windowsill is ideal. In 10 to 14 days you should see shoots start to appear.

Once the shoots are around two inches tall, the pots can be moved outside to a sheltered, sunny spot in order to carry on growing and acclimatising to outdoor conditions. When they have reached three inches tall, pinch or cut the growing tip out to encourage the plants to bush out into three or four stems giving more flowers later in the year.

Once more foliage has appeared they can be planted in the ground or in a good sized pot around 10inches in diameter.

They should be planted in a sunny or mostly sunny location and will need something to climb. Remember to feed and water well and by June you should be enjoying your first flowers, which can be cut and brought indoors.