When to plant Sweet peas
Calendar windows
Dates shift with your latitude — they are calculated from your local last-spring-frost date, not from a fixed calendar.
At a glance
Takes frost; can go out weeks before the last one.
Practical notes
Sow in autumn in deep root-trainers and overwinter in a cold frame — autumn-sown plants flower a month earlier and much longer. Pinch out the tips at four leaf pairs to force side shoots.
Knowing when to pick
Cut every single day, whether you need flowers or not. One seed pod allowed to form tells the whole plant to stop flowering.
Storing the crop
Four or five days in a vase; recut the stems and change the water daily. Save seed from the last pods of the season for next year.
Crop rotation
Follow legumes with a leafy crop — the nitrogen they fix in their roots is free fertiliser.
Grows well with
Keep apart from
Watch for
Full guide: sweet peas diseases and pests (3) → with spread routes, compost verdicts and the prevention this list justifies.