CHAPTER V 
Sweet Peas—Hardy and Half Hardy Annuals 
Sweet Peas are very easy to grow, yet how few grow them well! 
The reason must be that the care and attention which they 
demand is more than the average amateur cares to give. And so 
he misses one of the chief delights of the little garden, for there 
is no season more enjoyable than Sweet Pea time. To grow 
Sweet Peas well, that is to have them 6 or 8 feet high or more, 
and in bloom from early July until October, one must be prepared 
to take more than ordinary pains with their cultivation. The 
ground should be either trenched or well dug in November, 
leaving it in the form of ridges throughout the winter so as to 
expose a large surface to the weather influences ; in early February 
a layer of decayed farmyard manure may be placed 18 inches below 
the surface where the seeds are to be sown. This will be 
appreciated by the plants later on. Seeds are sown in the middle of 
February, 3 inches deep and, say, 3 inches apart. When the 
seedlings come up they are thinned out to 6 inches apart or as 
much more as the grower may think fit. Personally, for average 
purposes in the little garden I think a distance of 6 inches is 
sufficient to allow betwee the plants. I have grown very good 
Sweet Peas indeed at 6 inches apart. 
When the seedlings are 1 inch high, little twiggy sticks should be 
placed against them to which the tendrils may cling as soon as they 
form, and they do this quite early. Later on, in May, the final sticks 
are put in. I know of nothing which looks so well as, or answers the 
purpose better than, Hazel sticks 8 or 9 feet long. At least 10 or 
12 inches should be below the ground so that the sticks may be 
firm. This will leave, say, 7 feet above ground, and if the Peas 
cover sticks of this size well they will be most satisfactory. The 
more completely the sticks are covered the more attractive will be 
the display, so it is worth while keeping the plants fairly tidy by 
tying in straggling shoots and cutting off ugly pieces of stick. 
One can very well attend to such details as these in a little 
garden, and they repay attention. Of course, I do not mean to 
say that the sticks should be clipped and cut closely like a Birch 
broom ; that would be an absurd doctrine to preach. Still, the less 
one sees of the sticks the better. 
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