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OVERVIEW. For Mr Harris, the sweet pea, first and foremost, is an horticultural tool.
Of course, he values it for its other benefits and qualities: the wondrous blossom of the varieties that he chooses to propagate; the range of the blossom's colours (see pictures: scroll down to the second picture -- use the back button to return to this point); its perfume, which is a trademark feature of the Victorian walled, vegetable garden that he counts among his responsibilities on the Tresillian estate near Newquay in Cornwall, and which he has brought back from almost total dereliction during the past three decades.
For the head gardener, the sweet pea's prime role, however, is that of pollinator attractant. It draws in the bees, the bumble bees and the many other seekers after pollen without the services of which, Mr Harris knows, Tresillian's fruit and vegetable product would be severely reduced.
October is R J Harris's chosen month for starting off his annual mixed sweet peas. They begin in Tresillian's greenhouse as sowings in compost-filled pots, and the resultant plantlets are manipulated at two stages of their development in order to guarantee, later, maximum blooming.
In April (in Cornwall; elsewhere in the United Kingdom a later month may be dictated by weather/ground conditions), after hardening off, the manipulated plantlets are moved from pots to deep-trench bedsin the walled, kitchen garden, the powerhouses that make the Tresillian sweet peas possible. At this stage, the head gardener begins to observe the rules of
-- moon-phase planting
-- compatible planting
-- natural feeding
and applies the combination as it has been applied by aware hortculturists since the Greeks and the Romans cultivated the sweet pea in its wild form.
The plant's flowering season at Tresillian begins in May. It is at its height in July/August, when several displays are in full bloom and full aroma, each located according to the disciplines of his four-year, crop-rotation cycle, each in the company of compatible plants such as runner beans and borage -- the one helping to ensure, and even enhance, the quality of life of the other.
Each display comprises a long, double-sided cane structure in the Victorian style, which is illustrated in the picture referred to above (use the back button to return to this point).
The flowering season ends in September or October, depending upon the variety being grown and/or the onset of the first frost. The vines are then cut at ground level and, stored in plastic bags, held in readiness for the next available trench for a deep-trench bed. Their roots are left in the ground to bequeath their nitrogen to the soil of the deep-trench bed and, then, to be absorbed by the soil as they rot.
Mr Harris is aware that few spare-time gardeners have at their command the aids that help him to achieve his results. For them, he advises that sweet-pea plantlets can be produced not in solely a greenhouse but also in a conservatory, a cold frame or a spare room having south-facing glazing. They can then be hardened off and planted out in accordance with his sweet-pea regime (which, be it noted, sees the propagation of the flower for garden-tool, garden-decoration, soil-conditioning purposes -- not for exhibition, show or competitive purposes, which require a modified propagation method).
SEEDLINGS AND PLANTLETS IN AN UNHEATED GREENHOUSE, in which process there is no moon-phase content
in October, adjust the ventilation points of the unheated greenhouse so that a comfortable environment is created within which to work. Do so noting that the UK's October weather conditions can bring to an unheated, closed green house internal temperatures ranging from cold to extremely warm
assemble on the workbench top in the unheated greenhouse
John Innes No 2 potting compost
a watering can fitted with a fine rose and filled with cold water
sixteen 10cm pots.
[Consideration: when completed, each 10cm pot contains four sweet-pea plantlets developed to the stage at which, undisturbed in their host compost, they are ready to be planted out in the garden soil]
the chosen sweet-pea seeds, in their unopened packet.
[Consideration: R J Harris recommends the Heritage mixture, supplied by the specialist sweet-pea grower and seed supplier, Peter Grayson. It is shown in the picture referred to above (use the back button to return to this point). See SUPPLIERS in R J Harris's Moon Gardening for Mr Grayson's address details]
a sharp, pointed knife (a non-serrated kitchen knife is ideal)
sharp scissors
leave the assembled items in the closed-up greenhouse, on the workbench top, untouched, for at least 24 hours.
[Consideration: at the end of the 24-hour period, or longer, the items achieve a common ambient temperature. This aids germination]
note that at this stage of the overall garden-conversion project all four of the Year Areas have been outlined with the aid of garden canes and garden line -- and that the Year One Area has been fully installed, with its single-dug bed and deep-trench bed made ready for use. Also, the seed bed for the four Year Areas has been established. See Diagram 1, page 14
fill a 10cm pot with the John Innes No 2 potting compost. Do so loosely and completely. Do not place drainage stones in the pot first of all.
[Consideration: in this size of pot, the John Innes No 2 compost renders drainage aid unnecessary]
brush a hand across the top of the pot to level off the compost
tap the pot's base, gently yet firmly, two or three times upon the workbench top. By these means, settle the surface of the compost until it is level with the bottom edge of the rim that is moulded into the top of the pot. Continue to tap the pot's base only until this stage has been reached.
[Consideration: at the achieved ideal surface level, the compost is correctly compacted within the pot bearing in mind its trio of tasks: seed germination; nutritional support of, first, seedlings and then, plantlets; physical support of seedlings and plantlets]
add water to the compost's surface until it threatens to overflow from the top of the pot. Do so gently and without pause. Use the charged watering can. Do not disturb the surface of the compost as the water is applied.
[Considerations: 1 -- the water required to achieve pot brim level is exactly the amount that is required to correctly moisten the compost throughout its depth and width. Note that the depth of the pot's moulded top band is calculated so that this ideal initial watering is achieved without the need for calculation on the part of the gardener; 2 -- the relationship between the depth of the pot's moulded top band, compost compaction and correct initial watering is not accidental. It is the result of research and experimentation by the manufacturers of plant pots. This fundamental applies to pots of all size]
wait for at least 24 hours, to enable the watered compost to become comprehensively moistened. During this time, keep the greenhouse closed and, ideally, unused
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SWEET PEAS first page.
