I grow sweet peas every year. I start them off in the excuse for a greenhouse that we have. I keep empty cardboard egg boxes, fill them with compost and plant a pea seed in each egg hole. When the plants are about 6 inches tall and danger of frost has passed, I plant them out, cardboard and all. I did this on the weekend of 9th June and now,over 5 weeks later, they are no taller. They are supposed to grow to 6 feet o should be at least 2 feet by now. This is unprecedented. This is the 7th disappointing summer on the trot but this has never happened before to my sweet peas. I think that whie the others have been somewhat lacking in sun, this has been exceptionally sunless, exceptionally cool and exceptionally wet. Oh well, I shall wait and see. I could put fertiliser on them but as they are not grown commercially or for a prize at a show I don't think I'll bother. It isn't ust the peas. Hypericum, spiky veronica (sounds like a person!), monardia, philadelphus, fuchsia - all still not flowering yet. Grrrrrr.
As i said before this is out second year of a no show of peas in our garden. Last year it was bizzty lizzy they were awful, but then i read in the magazine that came with the weekend paper a fewmonths back not to plant bizzy lizzy this year as they had a blight of some sort last year so they wouldn't be good this year. I think the same has happened with the peas. The "summer" for want of a better word this year certainly hasn't helped either, our livingston daisies are poor this year hardly any have flowered due to the bad weather.
ReplyDeleteAnn: I am so sorry. I remember you mentioning your peas. Well, all the tiny unripe damsons have now gone from the damson tree and plants are just getting taller and taller but not flowering. Lilies are about 4 feet high with tiny tight buds and they are turning reddish as though they think it's autumn. They would normally be in full flower right now.
ReplyDeleteHi Foody. I have sneaky suspicion that Sweet peas like deep pots, and perhaps egg-boxes are not that deep. I read that they like to send down a long tap-root. I saw someone (Monty Don?) plant them in cardboard tubes. You can buy deep fibre (peat?) pots, but if you want to save money, save up 12 empty loo-roll centres, tape them together in a 3x4 block and next spring, in goes compost and away you go. You should be able to push them out, up from the bottom if the tubes are not too soggy, or you could tear the sides.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a real pea for, what - fifty years. Dad used to grow them, and broad beans. When you buy both the above nowadays, you get charged for the pods as well, which are only thrown away. This old pensioner can't afford the genuine thing. Froz. peas and tinned broad beans.
Yesterday, however, I dug up my first potatoes (Charlotte). Very nice.
Yuk your weather sound awful.
ReplyDeleteYou know , whenever we visit the weather is always good. Perhaps we should come over as a sort of good weather omen??? Hope it gets better for the Olympics
Cheers
Bernard: You are right. I have often thought of the loo roll thing but I would need to save about 100 and they would take up a lot more room. The roots are crawling out of the egg boxes and tangled up together by the time I come to plant but they usually just take off once in the soil. The cardboard just rots away round about them. This year is just exceptional.
ReplyDeleteI don't throw the pods away. I boil them, squeeze through a sieve until they are transparent then I do throw them away but keep the liquid and strainings for soup stock. But it's very laborious.
Oooh, lovely new potatoes! I've been buying them. Cornish, Cheshire, Shropshire and Anglesey ones have been to our market. Jerseys and Pembs too expensive.
Helsie: Oh, yes, do come over again, not least because you will make the weather better. Yes, it would be better for the Olympics if it would be dry and sunny. We'll just have to see.