Rules for growing annual sweet peas from seeds

Are you dreaming of growing sweet peas from seeds with your own hands, but don't know where to start? Drop all doubts! Growing plants is fun, fun, and you don't have to worry about getting your hands dirty. This is nothing compared to how beautiful, fragrant your flower bed will be during the flowering season. But most importantly, you will know that all this is created by yourself.

Planting methods

Sweet peas are a decoration of any flower bed and flower bed. Its peculiarity is that it pleases with flowering even when other plants are languishing in the summer heat. Sweet pea inflorescences last more than five months, and the variety of their shades creates a multi-colored waterfall on the flower bed. In the evening, before a thunderstorm, the extraordinary aroma of the plant will not leave anyone indifferent. The flower is also popular for the reason that it feels great both in the sun and in the shade, it is easy to shape and is an excellent arched plant that twists on any support.

There are several ways to plant sweet pea seeds:

• before winter (after the first frost);
• spring sowing;
• into closed soil.

Which of the ways to choose, everyone decides for himself, but it is best to try each of them and give preference to the one that will provide a beautiful and rich flowering.

Subwinter and spring sowing

Before winter, sowing is carried out after the onset of the first frost, but the garden bed is prepared two to three weeks before that. The soil is carefully dug up, leveled, weed roots are removed and loosened.

Before sowing, shallow (up to 5 cm) pits or rows are made and seeds are thrown into them. The distance between the peas is 2–3 centimeters. The sown rows are covered with earth and compacted with a shovel. Plants sown before winter emerge in the same period as during spring sowing, but they are resistant to frost and stress, and are distinguished by abundant flowering.

When sowing in spring, the appearance of young shoots has to wait a long time, if you do not cover the planting site with a film or allow the soil to dry out.

Sweet pea is a climbing plant. It is usually planted near fences, arbors, or under trees. In most cases, sowing is carried out according to the principle: the main thing is to throw it into the soil, and in the spring the stump will bloom. This is the biggest mistake of florists: growing even the simplest plants requires love and patience.

Sweet peas need special conditions for fast germination:

• constantly wet soil;
• heat - about 20 degrees.

Only under these conditions will the tender sprout penetrate the thick skin of the seed. As a rule, the first shoots appear in mid-May, and the plant blooms in June and pleases with its beauty until October, and sometimes until November.

Sowing indoor: basic rules

In order for sweet peas to please with flowering as quickly as possible, you can sow it in protected ground, and then transplant it to a garden bed.

What is needed for sowing sweet peas?

• Quality seeds - self-harvested or purchased. It is important not to skimp on buying seeds and give preference to a reliable company. Hybrid varieties of sweet peas bloom very beautifully.
• Earthen mixture. It is advisable to use purchased land or peat. Sphagnum peat is best suited, since it does not contain stimulants, a large amount of trace elements and has bactericidal properties.
• Potassium permanganate.
• Mini-greenhouse or plate with a thick transparent lid.
• Small containers for sowing seeds.

Everyone can cope with the task.It is only necessary to learn the main rules for sowing sweet peas.

Before planting seeds, you need to calibrate them. This means choosing the largest and strongest seeds from which a powerful plant will grow. It is also important to check the percentage of healthy seeds that will sprout. To do this, soak the seed in warm salted water for five minutes. We throw away everything that floats up. For sowing, only those seeds that have sunk to the bottom of the container are suitable.

Important!

Sweet pea seeds have a very dense skin. A lot of moisture is needed for the sprout to break through. But when sowing in a closed container, excess moisture can be detrimental to a young sprout. To avoid wastage, it is best to first germinate the seeds in a humid environment and then plant them in cups.

In order to soften the skin, you can also pour hot water over the peas and leave it there for a day. This procedure not only helps to soften the skin, but also stress the seeds, which serves as a catalyst for the germination process. After that, we place the seeds in a damp cloth and send them to the greenhouse. Now the main thing is not to miss the moment when the peel bursts. To do this, it is necessary to check the seeds in the greenhouse two to three times a day.

Seeds with cracked skin can already be planted in cups with damp soil. It is also advisable to place the cups in a greenhouse or cover them with foil before the first shoots appear. Then you can already lower the temperature and reduce the humidity. Growing young shoots on a windowsill is the best way to keep them from pulling out. It is also important that the temperature does not exceed 20 degrees. During this period, the light regime plays a special role: the more sun and light, the better for a young plant.

Features of transplanting to a flower bed

In mid-May, plants can be transferred to a flower bed or garden bed, but before that it is necessary to prepare them for new living conditions.

It is very important that it is just transshipment, and not just planting seedlings. When handled, plants take root in a new location faster and withstand stress better. Such a plant will bloom quickly and will not hurt. He is not afraid of the sun and summer heat, since the root system did not suffer during transplantation and is able to feed the vegetative part.

After transplanting to a flower bed, it is important to shade the plant for the first three to four days so that it gets used to the light and does not burn the delicate leaves.

It doesn't matter what method you use to grow sweet peas, the main thing is to pay maximum attention to the flower, starting from a small grain. If you sow, water, feed the plant in time, it will reward you with bright flowering and a wonderful aroma. Growing fragrant peas from seeds is not so difficult if you know all its secrets.