Organically Grown Sweet Pea
By Elizabeth Walling
With delicate petals and a heavenly fragrance, it’s no wonder that sweet peas make a charming addition to any flower garden. The blooms are ideal for cut flowers, and it is nearly impossible to avoid bringing these delightful flowers indoors to let their sweet aroma fill the home.
Sweet pea is especially resilient and thrives well under natural care, making it an ideal candidate for organic gardening.
Over the years, sweet peas have been cultivated to bloom in a variety of beautiful colors that are sure to compliment any garden. Because of their delicate appearance, pastel sweet peas have a particularly captivating appeal, but many deeper and more vibrant hues are also available. Old-fashioned varieties will be most fragrant, though the newly cultivated sweet peas will offer more variety in color and environmental tolerance.
Sweet pea should be planted in early spring when soil has thawed from any winter freeze. March and April are typically the ideal months for planting sweet pea. Seeds can be planted earlier if you start them indoors. It’s important for the plants to have enough time to grow strong before the intense heat of summer arrives. In the mildest of climates, sweet pea can be planted as early as October.
If you want to grow organic sweet pea, it’s important to give the plants a proper start so they will grow to be stronger, healthier plants that don‘t require extensive care. Plant sweet pea in a part of your garden that receives full sun. Soil should be rich and mixed well with compost to ensure the best growth. Sweet peas are typically grown from the seeds, which can be soaked for several hours before planting to promote germination. The seeds do not usually need to be planted very deep; a half inch to an inch will do. Planting your sweet peas at least three inches apart ensures they will receive the proper nutrients from the soil.
Typically sweet pea will bloom in late spring and can blossom all the way into fall if extreme summer heat doesn’t shorten the blooming period. Sweet pea vines can grow quite tall if they have adequate support, with a mature height of between six and nine feet. You can cut flowers frequently to promote further growth. Sweet pea should be watered regularly, especially during hot months to keep them blooming for a longer period of time. Natural fertilizers like compost and fish emulsion can be used once every few weeks to keep flowers healthy. Avoid over-fertilizing, however, since this can promote the growth of more foliage in place of flowers.
Although sweet pea has a delicate appearance, it is a surprisingly hardy plant. Excessive heat is the only common problem to beware of with sweet peas. Otherwise, these lovely flowers grow beautifully with little effort, making a pleasant backdrop if grown on a trellis or fence behind your garden. They also grow well in hanging baskets or garden urns. When allowed to grow organically, sweet pea will remain all the more true to its fragrant and attractive nature.
