For July. 1022 



201 



Better Sweet Peas 



CHARLES ELLIOTT 



IT is my intention to confine my remarks to up-to-date 

 exhibition culture as I believe that, whether a person 

 wishes to exhibit or to have flowers for table decora- 

 tion, the highest form of culture gives the best returns. I 

 contend that it is better to have a few good long-stemmed 

 flowers than a wheelbarrow full of poor, short-stemmed 

 stuf?. 



I am sometimes asked what is the best soil to grow 

 sweet peas in. If I could answer, it would not benefit 

 anyone, but I will try in as brief a space as possible to 

 tell you how to prepare the soil you have, in order to grow 

 sweet peas to perfection. 



To grow sweet peas, or for that matter any other crop, 

 good drainage must be secured and I believe most of our 

 gardens are improved by tile draining or some other form 

 of drainage that will carry surplus water away freely. 



The site on which you wish to plant should be chosen 

 the previous Fall and spading operations commenced as 

 early as possible. If you have a light soil with good 

 drainage, spade the soil not less than two feet, three will 

 do better, and work into the soil plenty of well-decayed 

 manure, cow manure may be the best, but horse or pig 

 manure will do very well, providing it is well rotted, and 

 in this case you would do well to mix the manure through 

 the soil so that when the roots descend they will find a 

 steady form of diet, and are not. gorging one week and 

 starving the next. Always be careful not to have fresh 

 manure nearer the surface than ten inches, and if the soil 

 is not too wet tramp it back into place as the work pro- 

 ceeds. Right here I want to emphasize the value of firm 

 soil, for the firmer the soil, other things being equal, the 

 better the results. Sweet peas cannot be grown to per- 

 fection in a loose soil. A good dusting of bonemeal mav 

 be added, and the ground should be left rough at the sur- 

 face. 



A heavy clay, as many of us have to contend with, is a 

 difficult proposition, but it will grow fine peas if handled 

 right. It calls for more labor and good judgment, but I 

 believe we like it better in the end. 



We have a very heavy soil at Park Ridge and prepare 

 it in this manner : As early as possible we haul onto 

 the site a good dressing of rotten manure and gather all 

 we possibly can in the way of partly decayed leaves and 

 rough garden refuse, and commence to thoroughly trench 

 the whole breadth of the plot which we intend to plant to 

 sweet peas. At the bottom of the trench we place a thick 

 layer of coarse material, such as the decayed leaves, or 

 refuse of some kind, and then, after putting on a layer of 

 soil, spread in a layer of manure, taking care to keep the 

 manure well down, and then some good soil on top, in 

 which to plant when the time comes. We add a good dose 

 of bone, but I do not believe in overdoing the manuring as 

 it may easily cause trouble, and neither do I believe in dig- 

 ging a trench two or three feet wide and as manv deeo 

 and filling it up with rich earth and manure. I admit 

 good peas are sometimes grown that way, but it is inviting 

 defeat, for such a trench provides a catchpit for a heavy 

 downpour of rain in the hot months, and when this mass 

 gets saturated, it results in the failure of a good crop of 

 sweet peas. Such a trench is also continually sinking dur- 

 ing the Summer, the cracks from the sides breaking the 

 feeding roots and causing the whole thing to collapse. 

 This work of preparing the ground should be done earlv 

 in the Fall in order to give the soil a good chance to be- 

 come settled before ^^"inter. If any old mortar rubbish is 

 to be had, we work this in the ground and spread some 



on top, but failing this we give a sprinkling of some form 

 of lime, and before the ground freezes, if it is not too 

 wet, we arrange the surface into ridges resembling small 

 potato ridges and leave them that way through the Win- 

 ter. Any time during the Winter months that we have 

 any light material to dispose of, it is spread over the 

 ridges. These ridges break down in fine shape in Spring, 

 • and about the end of ^larch we usually have an oppor- 

 tunity to work over the surface, but before doing so, we 

 give the groimd a good dusting of superphosphate and a 

 preparation known as Lime Fertile. These are worked 

 into the surface, which is left level and not raked. Care 

 must be exercised when the ground is finally finished off 

 not to have a low spot or basin left, otherwise this will 

 prove a catch-basin in times of rain and the rich soil will 

 sour and cause the plants to sicken. 



Selection of varieties and raising plants. Generallv 

 speaking, growers buy too many varieties and not enough 

 of one variety to assure success. I have noticed that the 

 most successful exhibitors order a large quantity of not 

 too many varieties and stake all on having plenty of plants 

 of each. The exhibitors also generally, secure enough 

 plants so that they can select the best for their purpose, 

 and discard the poorest. The logic of this should be 

 plain to everyone. I believe that fifteen to eighteen proved 

 varieties are sufficient for. a grower to meet all demands, 

 and to these varieties may be added the cream of the nov- 

 elties. 



There are two methods in common practice regarding 

 sowing seeds and raising plants : Sowing in the Fall, and 

 sowing in the early Spring, in both cases under glass. 

 Fall-sown plants are Wintered in cold frames, the early 

 Spring sowing is raised in heated structures. 



For many seasons we have been raising a large number 

 of varieties, some of them choice seedlings worth their 

 weight in gold, and we have found that the method out- 

 lined as follows gives the best results in 9'ermination and 

 at least as good results in sturdy plants : 



\\'e take ordinary flats and fill with fairly good soil to 

 the level, with a good dash of sand, and press this well 

 along the edges with the fingers. The surface is then 

 leveled and the seeds placed an inch or two apart over it. 

 If we have a few seeds of some varieties, we draw a drill 

 With finger tip and sow in it, and when sown cover the 

 seeds well with light soil. By covering I do not mean a half 

 inch, but that the seeds are hidden, which is enough. We 

 then press the whole down very firmly, putting all our 

 weight on the board used for this purpose. The flats are 

 then piled one on the other in a corner of the greenhouse 

 away from the sun and heat of the pipes. The soil should 

 be of about the same degree of moisture as used for pot- 

 ting, wet enough to form a loose ball, dry enough to break 

 apart when touched. Under good management the flats 

 do not require water until after germination commences. 

 After a few days the flats in the pile are looked over, the 

 top flat being i)laced at the bottom and water being given 

 if there is lack of moisture. Sowing in regular seed pans 

 answers the same purpose, but the center of a three-inch 

 pot is about the worst place I know of to place a sweet 

 pea seed, and I know seedsmen who are looking, club in 

 hand, for the man who discovered the sowing-in-sand idea. 



It is generally conceded that the white-seeded varieties 

 give poor results, but I myself find no difficulty, the most 

 difficult varieties being the pink and rose colored. They 

 germinate slowly, but the difficulty is well overcome by 

 chipping a small piece of the hard skin in order to allow 



