For the 2023 season, I’ve decided to use one of the beds to grow sweet peas. Sweet peas are cold-hardy, which means you need to have your game plan activated so that as soon as the soil is workable, you can get them started! With a few tips and tricks up our sleeve growing sweet peas is pretty easy!
How to Grow Sweet Peas
Sweet peas are incredibly cold-hardy and can take temps down to 20* before needing cover. As soon as the soil can be worked, the soil temp is 55*-65* get those suckers in the ground. Make sure to have a sturdy trellis because healthy sweet peas will grow around six feet tall and can get heavy! Sweet peas are heavy feeders, so make sure you have well-rotted manure mixed into the soil.
When to Plant Sweet Peas?
- As soon as the soil is workable
- 55-65*
How to Sprout Sweet Peas
If you are like me, you’ve tried sprouting sweet peas with various results. I’ve tried a multitude of ways with mixed results for sure! The steps below are fail safe!
- Soak seeds for 24 hours.
- Place between two damp paper towels and seal in a ziplock bag in a sunny window for three days until they sprout.
- Plant these sprouts in toilet paper rolls filled with damp soil or regular seed starting trays. Keep moisture consistent.
Garden Prep for Sweet Peas
Now while your sweet peas are sprouting, it’s time to get the garden bed ready for them.
- Dig a trench down the center of the row (or wherever you’re going to plant these pretty babies) and fill it with well-rotted manure – sweet peas are HEAVY feeders, so they will need the extra fertile ground.
- Sweet peas need consistent water, so soak well 2-3x a week.
- Build a strong trellis. These plants get heavy and will grow 6-8’ tall.
How to Plant Sweet Peas
- Gingerly pop seedlings out when they are about 2-3” tall to transplant outside.
- When the plant is 4-6” tall, pinch the center growing tip above a leaf joint.
- Weekly: go out to tie the plant to keep it steady, deadhead, and harvest.
- Harvest when two unopened flowers are seen at the top. Add sugar to the vase for a longer life, roughly 5-6 days.
Now go get planting!
Have a question? Ask away!
~ Lola
“There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments!”
Enjoy your new garden, and drop me a line! I’d love to hear how your sweet peas are coming along!
Materials to build raised garden beds yourself!
This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see our disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting The Gardening Passion!
Gardens we’ve built
Why I Garden; if you grow it, they will eat it
Community Oasis Garden; exploring the passion
The Gardening Passion Expands; the garden that created a bidding war
Quick Turn Garden; two years and counting
The Empty Nest Garden; totally out of control
Coops we’ve built
How NOT to Build a Chicken Coop
The Bored Engineer’s Coop
This content was originally published at The Gardening Passion and is copyrighted material. If you are reading this on another website, it is being published without consent.
