Sweet Peas!
Sweet Peas. I am so proud of these, they are perfect.
They grow on vines that are…delicate. Or they could be called lazy or drunken, or at least docile. They barely put in effort to be upright.
We seeded them in August, planted them in the hoop in October. They grew roots all winter and started putting a foot of growth on a week starting at the end of April. We trellis them to make harvestable stems. They are now a sweet pea wall, absolutely delicate and delightful.
When it was hot last week, we covered the hoop in a shade cloth. They can’t stand the heat.
Vines are so healthy, they make me so happy. We treat them weekly doses of compost tea and a teaspoon of fish emulsion. They are big feeders.
They don’t ship well. Their vase life is crap, at only 4 days. Plus they take some real effort to grow. They are not a profitable flower. I would say that only foolish farmers grow sweet peas but foolish isn’t the word. Let’s go with fool”hearty”. They are an absolute joy to hold and smell and you can feel they are precious to the Earth.
Vines are so healthy, they make me so happy. We treat them weekly doses of compost tea and a teaspoon of fish emulsion. They are big feeders.
They don’t ship well. Their vase life is crap, at only 4 days. Plus they take some real effort to grow. They are not a profitable flower. I would say that only foolish farmers grow sweet peas but foolish isn’t the word. Let’s go with fool”hearty”. They are an absolute joy to hold and smell and you can feel they are precious to the Earth.
They are an old-fashioned flower and used to be grown by many a grandmother. They are native to Sicily and are a cottage garden queen.
They can be a little stressful to harvest because about 1 in 10 flowers has a sleepy bumble bee who throws a fit when disturbed. BUZZZZ. Other pollinators are there too, all having a field day; one must proceed with care.
You can grow them too. Start in the fall by preparing a bed for them. In March, soak the seed overnight and plant on a drier day. They will need trellising in May and will bloom in June and poop out in the July heat.