Time to sow sweet peas

Roll with it: Reduce household waste by sowing sweet peas in the cardboard tubes of loo and kitchen roll. They are deep enough for the plants’ long root systems.

Mice will take advantage of sweet pea seeds sown in a greenhouse or coldframe. You can soak seeds in liquid paraffin first to keep the rodents at bay.

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Start another batch of sweet peas now for plenty of delightfully scented fl owers this summer Some people fi le the seeds to help germination

Time to sow sweet peas

Start a second batch for more plants for longer, says Ruth

THE sweet peas I sowed back in the autumn are doing well in a mini greenhouse, seeing out the worst of the winter. I am pinching them out every few weeks to stop them straggling and tangling, and encourage them grow into strong and bushy plants with lots of side shoots for more flowers. Sweet peas are hardy annuals so you can, in theory, sow them straight into the soil in autumn. But by sitting in cold, wet soil they ru the risk of rotting before they can germinate and there is a greater danger that they will be carried off by hungry rodents and birds. So starting them undercover is the best option, and to have more blooms over a longer period of time next summer I am sowing a second batch. The general advice used to be to either soak the seeds overnight or roughen their hard shells with a nail file before sowing, but I did neither with my autumn sowing and had a good ination rate. Sweet peas have extensive oot systems and long tap roots, so they need a deep pot of compost to flourish. For the best results, sow everal seeds around 1in .5cm) deep in a 10in (25cm) or use Rootrainers. These are deep, narrow modules that are opened up at planting time so you can remove the rootball and place it straight into the soil. Once sown, keep the compost damp and place the pot or Rootrainer in a greenhouse or coldframe. Rootrainers are perfect for sweet peas

Keeping sweet pea seedlings healthy

Get the best from your houseplants, RHS Garden Wisley 13 February

1-2: Heralding Spring: Chelsea Physic Garden, 66 Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4HS 1-2: Snowdrop Weekend: RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Rosemoor, Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH. ✆ 0203 176 5830,  rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor 1-29: Festival of Snowdrops: East Lambrook Manor Gardens, South Petherton, Somerset, TA13 5HH. ✆ 01460 240 328,  eastlambrook.com 3: RHS Members’ Gardening Advice: RHS Harlow Carr, Crag Lane, Harrogate, North Yorks HG3 1QB. ✆ 0203 176 5830,  rhs.org.uk/ gardens/harlow-carr 4: Winter Colour and Scent: RHS Garden Rosemoor 6: Rose Pruning: RHS Garden Rosemoor 7: Cultivating Willow: RHS Garden Harlow Carr 7: RHS Members’ Gardening Advice: RHS Harlow Carr 7: Designing with Plants: RHS Garden Hyde Hall, Creephedge Lane, Rettendon, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 8ET. ✆ 0203 176 5830,  rhs.org.uk/gardens/hyde-hall 8: British Iris Society Early Spring Show: RHS Wisley, Wisley Lane, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB. ✆ 0203 176 5830,  rhs.org.uk/ gardens/wisley 8: Designing with Plants: RHS Garden Hyde Hall 9: Lawn Care: RHS Garden Wisley 10: RHS Members’ Gardening Advice: RHS Harlow Carr 13: Success with Houseplants: RHS Garden Wisley