Growing Sweet Peas
When growing Sweet peas at sowing time, the lowest wire is put in place to act as a guide, and a hole about 2 inches deep is opened directly below it. Sharp sand (i.e. sand with angular grains like builders' sand, not beach sand) is sprinkled in the bottom of the drill, is moistened slightly and the seed is sown upon it about one inch apart.
The seed is then covered with more moist sand and protected by a sort of long tent made by drooping a piece of unbleached muslin over the ten-inch wire and placing some small stones along the muslin's edges so that it will not be blown out of place.
Generally I sow about five varieties and then on a plant label I insert the label in the hole to mark the point where the varieties change. Another label marked with the name of the variety and the date of sowing is placed midway of each variety and faced so as to be read from the walk.
When the seedlings come up, the "tent" is removed and the remainder of the wire-string support is set up. It will be noted that the vertical strings are spaced 4 inches apart while the seeds are sown about one inch apart. While this appears wasteful, all of the seeds do not germinate and the excess may be used in part to fill in gaps in the row and the remainder discarded. Sweet peas, if carefully removed from the soil, are easily transplanted. At this point I would not spray any chemicals except maybe neem oil.
As the vines grow they are wound around the strings and all the tendrils which, if left on would wind around and cling tenaciously to the strings, are pinched out or cut off. The vines stay in place well enough without them.
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