SHORT CULTURE ON SWEET PEAS 
HOW TO START THE SEED: 
Every year I personally visit many old 
Sweet Pea growers w r ho all agree that to 
get the best results the seed should be 
soaked in water for 6 to 10 hours, and such 
seed that have not swelled up must be chip¬ 
ped or filed and dropped back in water 
until swelled up. 
Some varieties like Xmas Triumph and 
several lavender varieties have very hard 
shell and must be soaked longer in water. 
You will find also many seeds which will 
not respond so quickly. Such seed has 
either been just hand picked or has ripen¬ 
ed during a very hot spell, and all these 
must be helped by chipping the skin. 
1. Any soil is good for Sweet Peas except 
heavy clay or too much sand. 
2. Work the soil at least 18 inches deep, 
2 feet is better, with plenty of rotten 
stable manure. Cow manure is best; use 
some lime and crushed bone. 
3. Tramp the soil down firm; never plant 
in loose soil. 
4. Take the hose and water down to the 
base. Let stand a few days until moder¬ 
ately moist. 
NEVER PUT SEED IN TOO WET SOIL. 
5. Rake off the surface nice and smooth, 
make rows and drop seed not over two 
inches deep, and two inches apart. Rake 
off again. DO NOT WATER UNTIL THE 
SEED IS UP AT LEAST HALF AN 
INCH OUT OF THE SOIL. (Nine-tenths 
of the failures are caused by watering 
too soon.) When the seed is all up give a 
good soaking about once a week. It is 
better to keep moisture below than on 
top. Do not plant Sweet Pea seed when 
the weather is too hot, shade the glass 
first. 
6. When all the seed is up, thin to at least 
6 inches apart, if outdoors, cover the 
rows with old strips of wire netting to 
protect the young plants from birds. All 
birds like the tender young sweet pea 
shoots when just out of the ground. 
7. Look from the start for Green Aphis. 
They are the greatest enemy. When you 
discover any, take the spray gun at once, 
load it with one part of 40 percent nico¬ 
tine and 400 parts of water, if the Sweet 
Peas are outdoors; in the greenhouse 1 
to 600 will do if you spray them in time, 
or use Nico Dust 6 percent. Shoot any 
black birds that are around your Sweet 
Peas. They do not pick on the Aphis as 
many people think, but they feed most 
exclusively on the lady bugs, who are the 
greatest exterminator of Aphis. Protect 
all frogs, they feed only on insects. Build 
them little water ponds where they will 
propagate quickly and they keep your 
garden free of insects. 
8. Give the young plants good substantial 
support so that they can climb from the 
start and have a chance to produce nme 
straight flowering stems. Crooked stem 
flowers are worthless. 
9. When the plants begin to bloom give 
them liquid manure water often; it will 
produce 100 percent better flowers. Cow 
manure or a weak sheep manure solution 
is the best. 
10. Pick daily, even the poorest flowers; it 
will lengthen the flowering season. Al¬ 
ways keep the surface earth loose to 
about two inches. Never allow any crust 
to form on top. 
Dropping the Buds 
In the northern and eastern states, drop¬ 
ping off buds during November and De¬ 
cember is common, but a great deal of this 
can be prevented. We all know that Sweet 
Peas like plenty of moisture to get long 
stems, but during the cloudy weather in 
November and December it is better to sac¬ 
rifice the long stems for good flowers. As 
soon as the moist and cloudy weather the 
latter part of October sets in, keep the 
greenhouses dry as possible, even when the 
soil is dry three to four inches on the sur¬ 
face. Keep the ventilator open even during 
the night as much as possible and during 
frosty nights turn the heating pipes on so 
there is plenty of dry air circulating. 
Should you find a few spots which need 
some water, water only between the rows 
in ditches and away from the plants, so 
they get the moisture from underneath. 
This will save you at least 50 percent of 
the flowers. 
One Out of a Big Stack of Testimonials: 
DEAR SIR:— As an enthusiastic grower of 
your genuine sweet pea seeds, 1 want to 
show my appreciation. Ever since we had 
seeds from you our sweet pea flowers have 
been a success in quantity, quality and fin¬ 
ancially also. We are known now to be the 
best sweetpea grower in the country. 
Orange Queen has been the finest we have 
ever seen. In fact every variety has been a 
success. President and Wisconsin are excel¬ 
lent. If you have developed more varieties 
like the famous White Twin, please let us 
know about it. 
FRANZ HORNING, Florist 
Steinheim Westf, Germany 
On the back page is pictured our 
LIMIT WINTER FLOWERING 
The Largest of All Sweet Peas 
In 1937 we intend to introduce most of the 
leading colors. 
