Sweet pea seeds

LuckyGirl. I have just found a lot of small seedlings in a pot with with my honeysuckle.

I did not put them there. I suspect that the warm spell might have put them into growth. I think the seedlings might be last year Sunflower seeds.

This sudden bitter cold is not going to do them any good though

I am not very good at growing from seeds at all.

I too have sweet peas and sunflowers seeds that have sprouted I’ll pinch the tips out when they are about 6ins tall.
The sunflowers I’ve actually put them out in the ground now and covered them with leaves for a little protection not sure if they’ll do ok though.

Do you pinch the sweet peas out even if there are no other leaves down the main stem?

Hint for those who haven’t planted sweet peas yet - collect cardboard inners from toilet paper (ask friends and family to save) put in plastic tray and fill with compost. Put 2 or 3 seeds about a inch down in each. When big enough to plant out, each roll inner can be put in ground as they are, so roots aren’t disturbed.

I think Monty Don suggested this last year.

Well done Luckygirl for giving seed growing a try. It’s. very satisfying ?. I wouldn’t do any pinching out yet.

I have the loo rolls too!

Here in Scotland I leave planting out sweet peas until all fear of frosts has gone. Brr. As soon as it stops snowing I'll plant them in the unheated greenhouse and transfer to the garden when the soil warms up which could be May. I like to pick sweet peas in August.

If you only have two leaves at the top of the stem they are the seed leaves so shouldn't be pinched out until more leaves appear.

I don't plant sweet peas out that have been started under glass until after the danger of frosts has passed but you could cover them with a cloche or some fleece if there are frost warnings.

Yes. Loo roll middles here as well. I also use them for sowing broad beans and sugar snap peas.

I don’t pinch out the tips till there are four pairs of leaves then pinch the tips of the sweet peas.

They are very tall!

Then pinch them now!

Were they quite tall and spindly before you planted them out? This is etiolation - the emerging plant is looking for light.

Unfortunately this weakens it considerably so your best bet is to sow some more as there is still time. You can then replace them if they don't make viable plants.

Even though they only have the two little leaves on the top!?

They are about 5-6" tall. Slender and elegant.

I have just poked seeds into a tray with deep sections.

I wouldn't advise pinching them out because the emerging seed leaves will have used up a great deal of energy from the seed itself. You will only be left with a bare stalk.

It's a common dilemma. Everything is too far advanced this year and whenever this has happened to me in the past I've sown some more seeds for back up.

Merlot’s correct then. If they’ve only got a couple of little leaves at the top. Best leave then alone.

If you protect them from frost they could still make viable plants but it's a good plan to have some back up just in case.

They are indoors and well protected with covers on.

Sorry, Luckygirl, I got the wrong end of the stick and thought you'd planted them out.

They now need hardening off so remove the covers and gradually get them used to being planted out. They don't need to be in a warm place any more but need light. Are they in a greenhouse or on a windowsill?

The more cosseting they get now the more they will become spindly and weak because they are indoors.

If you don't have a greenhouse you could stand them outside in a sheltered spot but where they can get full light during the day but continue to protect them from frost.

Luckygirl, you can build up soil around them if they're rather spindly.

It is quite cold here - I thought it might be too early to start putting them out.

They are in a sort of deep plastic rectangular trough with a domed more-or-less transparent cover on - I was given two of these for Christmas.

Could I plonk this out on the decking for an hour or two?

Some have produced more leaves now. If I pinch the first leaves off, do I do it just above the new leaves?

This is like GQT! - I am very grateful for all your help.

Yes. Put them outside for a few hours during the day but take them back in at night while we're having this cold spell. Keep the cover on while they're outside then you can start removing the cover during the day and put it back on at night leaving them outside all the time. Don't remove the cover completely until there is no further risk of frost. It's late where we live in East Anglia (I have to wait until the end of May) but it might be milder in your neck of the woods so just keep checking the weather forecast.

Don't be tempted to pinch out the top leaves just yet unless they have a sudden growth spurt. Putting them outside during the day should strengthen them enough to be able to put more energy into producing more leaves.

As Monty Don said on GW last Friday, We're learning from the very warm weather in February which made everything race ahead too quickly.

Here's a plan - they are quite heavy because they are in a sort of table, so lots of weight of compost. I thought I might put them on the decking for a couple of hours this afternoon, then drag them into the garage overnight. My DD will help me to get them to the decking, but I cannot get them back to where they were indoors as too heavy for one! The garage will be quite a bit colder than their normal home in the house. Do you think being in the colder garage instead might kill them off?