Sweet Pea Culture— Their Usage 



By George W. Kerr. 



"The Sweet Pea has a keel that zcas meant to seek all 

 shores; it has zcinj^s that were meant to fly across all con- 

 tinents; it has a standard -which is friendly to all nations: 

 it has a frasirance like the unii'ersal Gospel: yea. a S7>.'ect 

 prophecy of -welcome everyivherc that has been abun- 

 dantly fulfilled." 



So said the Rev. W. '1". Hiitchin.s, the well-known 

 Sweet Pea enthusiast, when attending; the Sweet Pea 

 Bi-centenary Celebration in London in 1900; and his 

 words sound almost like a prophecy — a prophecy that 

 has indeed been abundantly fulfilled. 



As far as we can learn the Sweet Pea is a native of 

 Sicily, and we read that in 1699 Franciscus Cupani, an 

 Italian monk, sent seeds to ICn^land, and so was bet^un 

 the culture of Sweet Peas. 



SOIL AND PREI'-\K.\TIO.\. 



Any ordinary garden soil will suit Sweet Peas, pro- 

 vided the following points are observed : 



First — The ground should be drained or the soil be 

 of such a nature that in a season of excessive rains the 

 water will not lie and so cause the roots to rot, or 

 start mildew among the plants. 



Second — The seeds should be planted in such a 

 position that no excessive shade shall interfere with 

 the sturdy growth of the vines, as too nnich shade 

 encourages a spindly and weak vine, with few, if any, 

 flowers. You should choose, therefore, a spot in your 

 garden right in the open, where your plants may have 

 all the available light and air, though a little shade 

 from the scorching mid-day suns of June and |ul\' will 

 be found most beneficial. 



Soils cultivated and prepared as for your vegetable 

 plot will give fair results, but for this, the Queen of 

 all our annual plants, a little e.xtra care and selection 

 of soil will be well repaid by the additional size of 

 flower, longer stems, better color, and prolonged period 

 of blooming. 



Whatever may be the composition of your soil. 

 a start should be made in the fall of the year b\' trench- 

 ing it to a depth of from two to three feet. Should 

 the subsoil be poor, it would be absurd to bring it to the 

 surface, but it should be broken up, turned over, 

 and mi.xed with any old garden refuse or stable litter. 

 Thoroughly mix with the second spit a liberal quantity 

 of half decayed stable or cow manure — the latter for 

 preference if the soil is light — adding a good dressing 

 3f bone meal as the work proceeds. The top spit should 

 be filled in as rough as possible (at the same time mix- 

 ing with the soil thoroughly rotted manure) and left so 

 all Winter, that the frost, snow, and rain may have a 

 better chance of exerting their mellowing influence^; 

 upon the soil. Should the under s])its be very light 

 I would recommend that it should be taken out of the 

 trench and rejilaced with soil of heavier substance. 



If the land is very heavy, with a clay subsoil, long 

 stable litter and rough material from the garden rub- 

 bish heap should he incorporated with the subsoil which 

 is broken up, as this will help materially to drain and 

 sweeten the trench, and farm-yard manure, road 

 sweepings, and wood ashes will help to lighten the 

 top spits, adding bone meal as recommended aboxe. 



While on the subject of trenching, we ought to ex- 

 plain that where the Sweet Peas are to be planted in 

 rows the trench should be taken out at least twti feet 

 wide and the rows should be live feet apart. 



.^s soon as the frost is out of the ground in earb 



s])ring and tiie s<iil is in a nice, dry condition, the rows 

 should have a fairly heavy coating of superphosphate 

 of lime (acid ])hosphate), which can' be forked or raked 

 into the soil and all made ready for planting. Care 

 should be taken that the soil is not too loose, as in this 

 condition it would be apt to dry up quickly during the 

 summer; therefore, if it is loose and open, get it con- 

 solidated by forking and treading, but do not attempt 

 tt) work the trench until it is quite dry. 



Soils deficient in lime will be greatlx- benefited by a 

 good dusting of fresh lime put on in the Fall or Winter, 

 using it as soon as slaked. On ground that has been 

 heavily manured for some years this application will 

 be found most beneficial, as it combines with the or- 

 ganic matter contained therein, thereby setting free 

 much ]:)lant food that was not previously available to 

 the cnjps. 



Where it has been found impossible to trench the 

 ground in the Fall, this operation should be com- 

 menced as early as possible in the spring, but in this 

 case only old, well-decomposed manure should be util- 

 ized, using bone meal and superphosphate of lime (acid 

 phosphate) as recommended above. 



-SOWIXC. .\XD I'L.VXTI.VG. 



To those who want the very best results we say 

 plant your Sweet Pea seeds in pots. This should be 

 done in January or February, according to location, 

 using pots of three and one-half or four inches diame- 

 ter. A suitable compost for this consists of turfy loam, 

 leaf soil, and a little sand, all thoroughly mixed. .\ 

 little of the roughest of the turf should be placed on 

 U>p of the cr<5cks to insure perfect drainage, afterwards 

 filling the pot to within an inch and a half of the top. 

 Then put an inch layer of sharp sand into which the 

 seed should be sunk half an inch when planting, the 

 use of the sand being to prevent the seed rotting ere 

 germinating, as many seeds so often do when planted 

 in heavier soil. Four seeds will be quite sufticient for 

 each pot, making all firm and labeling each variety as 

 it is sown. The pots should be then placed in a frame 

 or cool greenhouse as near the light as possible, so that 

 the growth will be kept sturdy and dwarf. The frame 

 or greenhouse bench on which the jjots are to stand 

 should be thoroughly cleaned and afterwards given a 

 thorough dusting of soot or lime to kill all insects, or 

 keej) them at bay. When the young vines are two or 

 three inches tall, insert a few twigs in the ])ots to keej) 

 them in an upright position. 



•After the first thorough soaking to settle soil and 

 seeds, great care should be taken not to overdo the 

 subsequent waterings, as in the event of sharp frosts, 

 should the Peas be in an unheated structure, there 

 ^s always the danger of the young plants getting 

 frosted. In severe weather the careful grower will al- 

 ways see that the frame is covered and protected from 

 night frosts. 



When the young plants are well through the .soil, 

 air should be given on all favorable occasions, and if 

 the plants have been started in heat they should be 

 now removed to a cold frame. .As Spring advances 

 the sashes should be entirely removed during the 

 brightest part of the day, keeping them off night and 

 day as "planting out time" approaches. .According 

 to locality- and weather conditions jjrevailing at the 

 time, the young plants should be put out from earlv 

 March to earh- Mav. 



