Tips on How to Grow Sweet Peas  from Seeds

Germination

• Start by sowing 4-6 weeks prior to your last frost date.

• Soak seeds in water 24 hours proir to sowing, overnight.

•  Place 2-4 seeds per cell , use a biodegradable pot  (as sweet peas do not want their roots disturbed.) or make one yourself from toilet paper rolls, cut the roll in half and make four cuts in the roll, 1/3 of the way up. Fold in the bottom like you would close a box. Fill them with a light potting soil, pack it down with your fingers, add seed  slices, fill with soil and then plant the seed 1/2-1 "/" deep.

• Cover the seed as Sweet Peas need darkness to germinate. Cover with newspaper and keep out of any sunlight untill seedlings appear at 70-75°F  for 5-7 days.

• As the seedlings grow they will start to become tall and leggy. When they have 3-4 pairs of leaves pinch and leave 2-3 pairs of leaves. You can encourage them to produce side shoots by pinching out the tips of the sweet peas. Simply nip off the top of the stem just above a set of leaves. This will make each plant much bushier and more robust. And the more shoots there are, the more flowers will be produced. 

• Space your transplants  5-6 " apart, this is important as the proper spacing is for the health of your plant with air circulation to prevent disease and gives the roots their individula space to forage and get nutrients.

• Once your sweet peas are growing well and the main risk of frost has passed, you can pop them outside to acclimate them to outdoor conditions for a week or so in time allotments before planting them out.
• Plant in a bright sunny area in the ground or container.