Sweet pea

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The Sweet Peas

It would be an effort at once superfluous and presumptuous to attempt to say anything in praise of the sweet pea as a desirable subject for culture by the amateur gardener.

Everybody knows the flower, and everybody loves it for its fragrance and its beauty. The gardener who cultivates a small plot of ground at the back of his house especially cherishes it because of the simplicity of its culture and because the reward which follows upon a very little effort on his own part is so rich and so satisfying.

To the genuine enthusiast the height of his ambition has been attained when he finds his choicest specimens displayed on the exhibition bench, and if he be the winner of a first prize his delight knows no bounds. Truly he has his reward. For my part, however, I prefer to think of the sweet pea as a flower which provides a gorgeous display of bloom in the summer garden, and as a decorative subject in the house. For absolute beauty there are few things in this world more delightful than a vase of freshly plucked sweet peas unless, indeed, it be a bowl of well-grown, shapely roses.

After all, the growers of sweet peas whose be-all and end-all is the winning of trophies at an exhibition are in a minority. The vast majority of us are content if we can grow a batch or two of sweet peas that shall not put us to shame. But we shall not be wholly satisfied unless we have included in our selection one or two of the latest and choicest varieties, and it is here that the exhibitor and the expert come to our aid.

A notable advantage which the amateur reaps from the severe competition of the professional sweet-pea raiser is the cheapness of the seed. No sooner is a new variety placed on the market than it is snapped up on every hand, and its multiplication is so rapid that in a year or two at most it is accessible even to the slenderest purse. Therefore it behoves the cultivator who desires to keep abreast of the advances made in sweet-pea culture to watch carefully for the appearance of the latest kinds, and to keep track of them until he is able himself to become the pioud possessor of the choicest varieties.

Varieties of Sweet Peas

Growing Sweet Peas

In order to grow sweet peas to perfection a few essential rules must be observed.

They are :

(1) Deep tilling of the soil.

(2) Thin sowing.

(3) Good feeding.

(4) Efficient staking.

Let me take these in the order in which I have set them out. The aim of the successful raiser of sweet peas is to produce large blooms on long, firm stalks. Deep cultivation alone can help to achieve this result.

The ground on which the flowers are to be produced ought to be at a depth of at least two feet in the autumn, and some rich farmyard manure incorporated with the soil. In no case should. manure be mixed with the surface soil. If it be buried deeply it will enrich the lower layers, and when the heat of summer comes, and the long sweet-pea roots are thrusting themselves deep down in the soil in search of nutriment, they will find it in the manure applied in the previous autumn. The advantages of good feeding will surely make themselves manifest in the size of the flowers and the height to which the plants will grow.

On this point Mr Henry Eckford, of Wem, Shropshire, who has done more perhaps than any man living in improving the sweet pea, gives the following advice : " Any time between November and February, give the ground a good dressing of manure, cow manure for preference, but failing this, use well-rotted stable manure or such manure as may often be obtained in towns, from the butcher's slaughterhouse. This must be dug in as deeply as possible. Allow the ground to lay up rough. I recommend this iii preference to the ordinary method of placing the manure in the bottom of a trench and covering with an inch or two of soil, because I have known so many instances where this has been done by amateurs, and as soon as the young seedlings get their roots down into the manure they sicken and die.

If the manure is spread and dug in as recommended, the plants will be perfectly safe. Do not use the sweepings of a fowl-run for sweet peas, as they frequently fill the ground with minute eel worms and nothing will more surely destroy the plants. Much loss is traceable to this pest."

The problem when to sow out of doors is easily solved if the grower intends merely to provide a summer display in the garden. In a moderately dry February, the seed may be sown during the second week, but I do not think that there is much to be gained by sowing out of doors at so early a period of the year. No time will be lost by postponing the operation until March, and even then it will be an advantage to wait until the ground is dry and is in an easily workable and friable condition.

If sweet peas are to be cultivated in rows it is a good plan to draw a broad, flat-bottomed drill, about a foot or eighteen inches wide. On no account should it be concave. The inevitable result of this would be to crush the seed into the centre of the shallow drill, and to cause overcrowding. Thin sowing, however, can be carried out with perfect ease if the drill be flat. If clumps are to be grown, the same rule should be observed the bottom of the circular trench should be perfectly flat.

Sweet Peas and Pests

Birds and mice are great enemies of the sweet-pea grower in the earliest stages of cultivation. Here is the method recommended by Mr Eckford for circumventing their depredations :

" It is always wise to red lead the seeds prior to sowing, to prevent birds or mice taking them away. An easy way to coat the seeds is to place them in a pail or other vessel, and sprinkle with water sufficient to damp thoroughly every seed (not to soak them). Pour off superfluous water and then sprinkle the seed with red lead, a little at a time, stirring them the while with a stick, until each seed is dry coated and free. Paraffin may be used instead of red lead, but it is not so certain. The soil is such a purifier that the odour of paraffin goes off quickly, and when we remember that the seed is attached to the plant for quite a considerable time, it will be seen that the substance that adheres longest must be the most effectual. When paraffin is used, place the seed into a vessel and pour paraffin over it, only allowing the seed to remain a short time, then sow directly it is removed."

Slugs and snails, too, should be watched for, especially on moist evenings. An occasional dusting with soot or lime, or both, will prevent these pests doing much damage.

Sowing Sweet Peas

These preliminary preparations complete, all is now in readiness for committing the seed to the ground, and the question that next arises is " How far apart should each seed be sown ? " The answer depends upon the purpose for which the flowers are being cul- tivated. If for exhibition, then nine or even twelve inches would not be too great a distance to allow between the plants ; but if for simple garden decoration and for cutting, six inches will be amply sufficient. The old method of sowing in zigzag lines is now seldom practised by the expert. Instead, the seed should be placed in single rows.

I do not believe in deep sowing in early spring. The ground for some time to come is certain to be cold and clammy, even at the surface, and if the seed be sown too deeply it will be slow to germinate. The drills should be drawn three inches deep, the surface be made fairly firm, and the seed covered with not more than an inch or an inch and a half of soil. If this be done a shallow trench will be left, and the raised sides will afford some protection against cutting east winds during the very earliest stages of the young plants existence.

A very effective plan, if it is not convenient to sow sweet peas in long rows, is to arrange them in round clumps half-a-dozen seeds in each. The clumps may be dotted heffi ftlld there at the back of the mixed border, and the effect will be very pleasing.

You may perhaps wish to fill up an odd corner on a gravel path near a window so that the fragrance of the flowers may be wafted into the house. This may be accomplished by sowing the seeds in a large pot or in an old butter bucket painted green on the outside.

Sow three or four seeds in a pot, or half-a-dozen in the tub, make the soil rich, and you will not be disappointed. I As soon as the tiny plants begin to peep through the soil pea guards should be used, or black thread may be stretched over them zigzag fashion, to prevent the birds taking the tender tops.

Supporting Sweet Peas

Sweet peas cannot be afforded support too early. Directly the seedlings are two or three inches above the soil their slender tendrils should be assisted in their natural efforts to cling to a support. This is best provided by the short twiggy tops of hazel sticks. A little later the final staking must be attended to. This should be provided by longer hazel sticks, five or six feet high. These are put into the ground in unbroken straight lines on either side of the trench, at an inclined angle, slanting in one direction on one side and in the opposite direction on the other.

If the weather in May and early June be genial the plants will climb over these rapidly, but it would be a mistake to leave them altogether to their own devices. It is not enough to place the stakes in position and to expect the plants to take care of themselves. If the rows or clumps of sweet peas be examined it will be found that many of the leading growths are being throttled by the tenacious grip of the tendrils. These should be carefully untwined and trained in another direction. The leading growths must be brought towards the outside of the sticks, so that they can derive the fullest benefit from sunlight and air. In some instances where there is any difficulty in inducing the shoot to keep in position, it can be tied to a stick.

As the buds form it will be necessary to apply frequent doses of weak liquid manure. Soot water is an excellent fertiliser. It is easily prepared, and if care has been taken to store the soot in a dry place for several weeks there need be no hesitation about using it. Weak solutions of nitrate of soda may be also used as a fertiliser, while a surface mulching of short manure will be found of the utmost value for keeping the plants in a vigorous condition.

While supplying necessary food, the mulching also keeps the soil moist and dispenses with the too frequent use of the watering-pot.

In hot, dry weather it will be necessary to give water to the plants. When this is done, see that it is done thoroughly. No mere dribble will accomplish any good. It is better to give a heavy soaking twice a week than a sprinkling twice a day. A good plan so as to ensure that the water may reach the roots is to drill holes about nine inches from the base of the plants, and into these pour water again and again until you are satisfied that the moisture has gone down to a good depth below the roots of the peas. Soft rain water is always safe, whereas service water may contain something which the plants do not like, and, as is frequently the case, do more harm than good. If service water only is available it should be exposed to the sun and air for twenty-four hours before being used. After watering, there is often a tendency for the surface of the soil to become hard and caked. This should not be allowed. Stir frequently with a Dutch hoe to keep the surface soil open.