Sweet Pea Growing

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23157, 1 October 1938, Page 10 (Supplement)

Sweet Pea Growing

weather conditions more genial • sweet peas will now make rapid headway. Support should be provided without undue delay. There is no greater mistake than to allow the stems to trail ab'out unsupported in the early stages of growth. The inevitable consequence is that, the sterns beconie bent and cracked. The cracks will usually heal, but they form an impediment to the free flow of sap. Small brushwood twigs should be used until the plants are of sufficient size to take hold of their stakes. Actually these .twigs serve a dual purposie, for in addition to providing support they help to shelter the young plants from cold winds. Mulching is a* job which must also be seen to in the early stages. It is useless to wait ■until th«:'sbii has dried out before applying a mulch, Early November is not too soon to make a start, but in a wet season the job may be delayed a few weeks longer. Any light, loose material is suitable for the purpose. Feeding should not commence until the flower buds actually'form, for although naturally grown plants are not anything like so easily upset as those the cordon system, there is no need for additional nutriment until the effort, of flowering commences. : For regular use there is nothing to equal, weak solutions of natural manure, but to be of any real effect it should be applied in quantity./sufficient to soak down to the furthest root tips. Sprinklings are of little use; when the surface only is wetted, and may even do harm by encouraging the plants to become sur-

Brushwood for Early Support

face rooting, with the result that they will suffer even more in dry spells. One or two dressings of a complete fertiliser will also help to maintain a supply of good quality flowers. Avoid the weird concoctions sometimes recommended, of which the fertilising value is unknown. The removal of spent flowers must, of course, be a constant task during the whole of the time the plants are in flower. It is riot generally known that the spikes should be cut before the bottom flower fades, or seed production will have already commenced, and there is nothing that so quickly exhausts the plants. ' :■■■ '