Sowing sweet peas in toilet rolls
The beautifully scented sweet pea (also known as lathyrus) is an absolute must-have for your garden! They come in so many colours, and here’s a fun fact: the more you pick, the more flowers you’ll get. Time to start sowing (or pre-sowing)! And here’s how I do it.
What you’ll need:
- Sweet pea seeds
- Toilet rolls, seed tray or tall pots
- Scissors
- Seed-starting compost
- Vermiculite
- Watering can with spray head
- Propagator with a lid
Sowing Lathyrus: the preparation
I started by saving some empty toilet rolls. These are perfect for sowing seeds – and the best part is, you can plant the whole roll directly into the ground, no need to disturb the roots.
Before filling them with soil, I cut four 1 cm slits into one end of each roll. Then I folded the flaps over, like the bottom of a cardboard box, to create a little base.
You can also use tall pots or root trainers if you prefer.
I soaked the sweet pea seeds in a glass of water for 24 hours beforehand.
This helps soften the outer shell and encourages better germination. Not everyone does this, but I’ve had great results with it.
Sowing the sweet peas
I use seedling soil mixed with about 30% vermiculite. This way you get an airy mix in which seeds can germinate well and vermiculite also retains moisture.
It is desirable to moisten the soil before sowing the seeds. Top up the mix with water until you can knead it a little. Then fill the rolls about 3/4 with the mix and put 2 seeds in each roll. Then put a thin layer of mix over the seeds and water it. Not too thin because then the seed may be exposed and cannot germinate.
Then I put the rolls in a container with a plastic cover on top. I first put the tray inside in a light place and once the plants germinate and the first leaves are visible I lower the temperature and take the hood off.
At the end of March, you can harden off the plants by putting them outside during the day and bringing them inside at night. That way they get used to the temperature and in late April/early May you can leave them outside. Then the chance of night frost is actually over.
I still top the plants though, this way you prevent them from becoming lush. You don't have to do this, if you let them grow you are more likely to have longer, thin stems and flowers. Let the plants grow against a climbing instruction. You can easily make this yourself for example by sticking 2 bamboo sticks in the ground and making a grid with string back and forth. So there are still many ways to make a construction and also entirely dependent on how many plants you have.
Wishing you loads of success and fun with sowing!
About (takkewijf)Laura
Hi! I’m Laura and I’m a guest blogger for FAM Flower Farm. I’m a big dahlia fan and I love sharing my adventures on Instagram at @takkewijflaura.
Sowing flower seeds is super fun – and mostly a matter of trying, learning and enjoying the process. With a little luck and a good dose of humour, I think we can all get pretty far.
I hope I can inspire you to give it a go too! #spreadtheloveforflowers
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