Sweet pea has to be one of my favourite flowers to grow, there is nothing quite like picking a bunch of your own heavenly scented flowers and the more you pick it the more it offers, what more could you ask for?
Sweet pea originates in Sicily and in the language of flowers it represents 'blissful pleasure' and are given to signify friendship and farewell. In France they are often given to the bride to be for luck and to ward off any negativity.
Sweet Pea is one of the easiest to grow and here I will give you a guide on how to:
Firstly choose the seeds you wish to use, there is an abundance of choice when it comes to Sweet Pea with some being more fragrant than others you can get a premix of different types such as Unwins Sweet Pea 120 years which will produce a multitude of different colours.
Once you have your seeds you will need to soak them overnight, don't leave them soak any longer or they will rot.
Prepare a seed tray:
You can do this by placing loo roll tubes in a tray and filling them with potting compost or if you prefer you can get a purpose made tray such as the Grow It Seed and Cutting Tray 40 Pot.
I tend to put two seeds per pot so that if one fails there's a back up, they also don't mind growing in close proximity so it is fine if they both germinate.
After filling your pots/tubes and dampening the soil simply push the seeds about 2cm down with your finger and gently cover over. Place them somewhere warm but not hot until they germinate. 
The most common mistake people make when growing Sweet Pea is molly coddling them and keeping them too comfortable. Sweet Pea will grow a lot stronger when started off in cooler conditions so if you can put them somewhere that is not heated but sheltered, in an unheated greenhouse or in a windowsill in a room that doesn't have radiators is ideal.
Once this is done you can ignore them until you see a few leaves poking through the soil in about 10 to 14 days then you can gently water them.
When the plants get about 5 inches tall you can 'pinch' out the leader which basically means you take off the growing tip of the plant just at the upper leaf joint.
This will invigorate the plant to grow it's root system outward making a much stronger plant.
Keep them together in a greenhouse watering enough to keep them damp and using Tomato feed every few weeks. They will use each other for support but if you see one overtaking the rest or getting to 'leggy' don't be shy about nipping off the top shoot in the pinching method mentioned above.
It's worth mentioning that mice absolutely LOVE Sweet Pea seeds and will happily munch all your seeds and seedlings if given half a chance so be sure to put down traps, close doors etc. to keep them at bay as much as possible.
Now you have finished sowing it's just time to wait until the last frost has past and you can plant them outside. This will generally be towards the end of March or mid April if you want to be sure (different seeds have different timings so always check the packet).
Sweet Peas love full sun and moist rich soil, it is also advisable to put them somewhere that is easily accessible so that you can tend to them and pick them!
Wherever you put them, the one thing they will definitely need is support so they are ideal for garden trellis's.
As they grow they will hold on themselves with their tendrils but you will need to gently tie their main stalks onto whatever support you have in place to give them a hand.
When the first blooms come be sure to pick them as this will encourage more blooms as they go.
Happy Sowing!
Sophie x
