Plants – Sweet Peas and the Farmer’s Almanac

On March 23, 2017March 22, 2017 By TimelessladyIn Plants

I’ve grown sweet peas many times here in NJ. I’ve been successful starting them indoors and out, but I have found that even if I plant varieties that claim to be perennial, the plants behave like an annual for me and rarely grow a second year.

This year, I soaked the seeds overnight, dug a trench around an already established trellis, and planted all the seeds in the ground. The seeds are covered now, but I have not filled in the trench. As the plants grow, I will gradually cover the bottom of the growth with more soil. This will help the roots stay cool and hopefully give the sweet peas more endurance to withstand New Jersey’s high summer heat and humidity.

Great tips for growing sweet peas can be found in the online version of the Farmer’s Almanac: Growing Sweet Peas

I picked up a pack of chiles for a great price in Aldi this week. They are a great asset to my gardens.

Scattering a few chiles around newly planted seeds might deter a squirrel or chipmunk intent on finding acorns or sunflower seeds.

6 thoughts on “Plants – Sweet Peas and the Farmer’s Almanac”

Dolly D.

I hope the Chillis work.

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March 23, 2017 at 11:53 am Reply
1. Timelesslady
  
  I do too…we have such a problem every year with animals destroying plants. I think they are all cute, but have to think of them more as varmints rather than cute and cuddly.
  
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  March 23, 2017 at 1:48 pm Reply
Anne Mehrling

The sweet pea pictures look lovely. I have one trellis, but it’s already taken with something I inherited. I won’t even mention to John that you are planting chillies. He can’t bear the sight of mild black pepper on his food. *sigh*

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March 23, 2017 at 12:53 pm Reply
1. Timelesslady
  
  Anne, tell him no worries, the chiles are to scare the animals away who eat my sprouting seeds. Chipmunks and squirrels at this time of year and then groundhogs and rabbits when the plants are a little larger. I agree with him about food that is too spicy…I like mildly spiced…my husband shakes red pepper onto a lot of Italian dishes and I only use it if it can be cooked through first. I love black pepper though.
  
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  March 23, 2017 at 1:47 pm Reply
  1. Anne Mehrling
    
    Oh! You are scaring animals, not anti-spicers!
    
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    March 23, 2017 at 7:33 pm Reply
    1. Timelesslady
      
      Yes, but it makes me smile to think of anti-spicers. I love it.
      
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      March 24, 2017 at 8:20 am Reply