February, 1 1) l ^ 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



11 



I endeavor to have the 



plants set out by the middle 

 of April at Least, according to 

 weather conditions, and if the 

 plants have been carefully 

 hardened off, it takes very 

 severe weather indeed to 

 harm them at all. 



Place the pots twelve to 

 eighteen inches apart in the 

 row, planting each potful en- 

 tire, and if they were given a 

 thorough watering the day 

 before, it will be a simple 

 matter to turn the ball of 

 earth out of the pot without 

 disturbing the roots. Plant 

 firmly and if necessary give 

 the plants a thorough water- 

 ing to settle the soil about 

 the roots. 



SUPPORT FOR THE VINES 



Whatever may be the 

 medium for supporting the 

 vines, it should be put into 

 place immediately after 

 planting. WTiere good stout 

 twiggy brush can be had 

 don't think about anything 

 else, as no other support will 

 give such good results and the 

 sweet pea vine appears to be 

 in its element when rambling 

 over it. If the stakes used 

 are not w T ell feathered at the 

 bottom, some smaller pieces 

 may be inserted, to give 

 the young vines something 

 to cling to as soon as they 

 start growing. Insert the 

 sticks firmly in the ground 

 on each side of the row, 

 six inches from the plants, 

 the tops slanting slightly 

 from the plants (on no ac- 

 count meeting at the top like 

 an inverted V) as the bulk 

 of the sweet pea growth is 

 at flowering time at the top of the vine. 

 Failing brush as a support, the best 

 substitute is wire netting, six inch mesh, 

 attaching it to stout stakes driven about 

 twelve inches into the ground, waring both 

 sides of the row at the distance recom- 

 mended for brush. Another method is the 

 use of soft jute twine, run to stakes inserted 

 five feet apart on each side of the sw y eet 

 peas, the twine running horizontally from 

 stake to stake, allowing six inches between 

 each line of twine. 



THINNING OUT 



It pays to thin out the rows just previous 

 to staking because the quantity of seed 

 given for sowing in the space is to allow 

 for all sorts of peculiar accidents. The 

 vines should be thinned out to stand from 

 four to six inches apart, afterward drawing 

 the soil up to them on either side so that 

 they appear to be growing along the centre 

 of a small furrow. The soil thus brought 



The modern "Spencer" or "orchid-flowered" sweet peas have waved standards, and are 

 much larger than the old type. This photograph is actual size 



around the plants tends to keep them in 

 an upright position and also replaces such 

 soil as may have become loosened during 

 the thinning. But even when no thinning 

 out is required, I always draw the soil up 

 to the young vines when they are about 

 three inches high. The seedlings which are 

 thinned out may be used to fill up any blanks. 



Sweet peas need not necessarily be 

 planted in rows, as, for the embellishment of 

 the flow T er garden, they can be used with fine 

 effect when planted in clumps at the back 

 of a herbaceous border, or where there are 

 recesses among shrubs. 



Do not rest on your oars now waiting 

 on the flowers to open, but keep the hoe 

 going at least once a week (twice would be 

 better) between the rows and well up to 

 the plants, and should the weather be dry 

 and mild, copious watering (according to 

 soil conditions) will be most beneficial. 

 Always use the hoe after watering, as soon 

 as the surface soil drys off, to make a soil 



mulch, to keep off the drying 

 influence of the sun's rays. 



MULCHING AND FEEDING 



When the buds show color 

 a mulch of half decayed 

 farmyard manure — two to 

 three inches thick — will be 

 relished by the plants; fail- 

 ing manure, hay or lawn 

 clippings may be employed, 

 but they do not contain the 

 manurial properties of the 

 former. And remember to 

 see that the soil is stirred 

 just before the mulch is given. 

 The plants will now be 

 coming into full flower — I 

 can imagine I see their 

 glorious colors, and inhale 

 their subtle, thrilling fra- 

 grance — and as our Queen 

 of Annuals provides a bounti- 

 ful harvest, do not cull with 

 a niggardly hand, but cut 

 for the house and for your 

 friends, remembering that 

 the more freely the blossoms 

 are culled the longer and 

 more profusely will the plants 

 continue to yield their best. 

 On no account let a seed pod 

 form (a friend of mine has 

 remarked that "a seed pod 

 should be as a needle in a 

 hay st ack — un discoverable " ), 

 for when the vines once begin 

 to set seed their flowering 

 season soon passes. 



While the plants are flower- 

 ing, it is well to keep them 

 fed with liquid fertilizer. 

 Liquid manure may be ap- 

 plied in many forms, one of 

 the best being soot water 

 (Scotch soot) putting a small 

 bag — seven pounds or so 

 — in a barrel of water, and 

 applying when it is the color 

 of weak tea; sulphate of pot- 

 ash, one ounce to a gallon of water; sulphate 

 of ammonia i ounce to two gallons of water ; 

 acid phosphate i ounce to a gallon of water; 

 also liquid farmyard manure; any of the 

 above applied once a week will work won- 

 ders. But they should never be applied 

 when the ground is dry ; let the manure 

 follow a thorough soaking with clear water, 

 or after showers. Dry soot might also be 

 dusted along the roots of the plants during 

 showery weather, this manure acting as a 

 perfect fertilizer, giving great brightness and 

 color to the flowers, and also as an insecticide. 



AS TO WATERING 



If the hose will reach your sweet peas 

 use it freely each evening, or at least two 

 or three times a week during hot, dry 

 weather; and if it has a spray attachment 

 to not forget an overhead bath after the 

 sun has gone down refreshes the vines 

 most wonderfully and also tends to keep 

 them free from aphis. 



