Growing Sweet Peas In Southern California

A visitor asked a Lompoc farmer Robert Rennie to grow them. Sweet peas need soil that drains well and that allows water to run freely.

Sweet Pea I Would Like Spring Plants Plants Trees To Plant

That place will have rich improved soil and a full-sun position and be next to something tall for the tendrils to grasp.

Growing sweet peas in southern california. If you garden in mild winter climates Zones 8 9 or 10 plant sweet peas in the late fall November so they can develop and bloom in late winter and early spring. Having been a long-time California gardener I was amazed at how fast vegetables grow in the summer here. Rennie planted sweet peas on half an acre of his ranch which is now part of Lompocs town center.

So they get up and growing through the fall as it cools down from summer then the plants slow down a bit in December when the days are short but speed up again when days lengthen in January. The soil and moisture in the late spring and summer are just amazing. Fine Gardening magazine recommends digging the soil down at least 1 foot and being generous with compost or aged manure.

Lucky is the gardener who has the perfect spot to grow sweet peas. In CA and all southern climates that means fall planting. Indeed Sweet Peas grown for seed production became an important commercial crop in California in the early 1900s where there were several hundred acres devoted to their production around Lompoc near Santa Barbara because of the favorable climate.

You can get catalogs from Fragrant Garden Nursery PO. Sweet peas are heavy feeders which is why Godfrey says theyll grow best in soil that has been amended with lots of compost. Ignore the seed packet recommendations for spacing and plant your transplants approximately 4-6 inches apart.

Granular time released fertilizers are easiest because they can last for months but diluted liquid fertilizers can be given weekly. Ive recently discovered the joys of growing peas. Sweet peas are often grown on trellises or archways.

The best guarantee of success in growing sweet peas is early planting. If you dont have a suitable place for sweet peas erect a few. This is another lovely choice and will lend your garden a country cottage feel.

Weve got arguably the best soil in America but some of the worst weather. To receive a time to plant e-minder in September sign up here. They also perform best in full sun but can be grown in slight shade not recommended.

Peas like it cool. Established and happy sweet pea plants are a lot more hardy than we think. Throughout the growing season keep their soil moist as they are water loving plants.

Box 627 Canby OR 97013. Sweet pea flowers like rich loamy soil that has been enriched by a good compost prior to planting. Peas sown October 14 2016.

American seed companies soon discovered that the cool mild coastal area near Lompoc California was ideally suited for sweet pea seed production and most of our American. If directly sowing seeds sow them 1-2 inches apart and thin the vines as they grow larger to a final distance of 4-6 inches apart. To get the best display dig a trench and fill it with well-rotted manure or compost 6 weeks before you sow the seeds.

In the USA growers who at first began growing seeds for export to this huge English market began to develop new sweet pea cultivars better suited to American conditions. The regions rich soil and benign climate were ideal for growing the flowers. I live in Iowa.

If adding compost isnt an option fertilizing can make a big difference he says. Thats one of the two best times to sow peas in Southern California. Wind and fog from the Pacific Ocean cooled the worst of the summer heat.

Blooming Rose Musings A Sweet Pea Maze Blooming Rose Sweet Pea Flower Field