Garden Peas By Digging Gypsum Into The Soil

There is a real advantage in using a mulch of straw or similar material to preserve moisture in soils that are inclined to dry out. The mulch should be several inches thick and spread when the vines are about 6 inches tall.

Supporting the vines. When sweet pea plants are 3 inches high, it is a good idea to set twigs around them to which the young tendrils may cling. Growth is sometimes checked if the vines are allowed free play in the wind. At the 6-inch stage, it is time to put up permanent supports. These may he made of wire, brush, strings or the newer trellis netting, and should be set on the side away from prevailing winds so that the vines will blow against them.

Wire netting with about a four-inch mesh affords one of the hest means of support. It is fastened between two stout stakes set, at each end of the row and braced against the pull of the netting. Tree boughs with plenty of twigs and thrust firmly in Ilse ground along the rows will also serve, as will strong strings stretched between the row-end stakes. Clumps of sweet peas are supported by a circle of wire or by stakes and strings arranged in the same way.

Pest control. The few insects and diseases attacking sweet peas may be controlled with a little care. The only really serious pest is the green aphid. At the first sign of this insect - puckering and discoloration of the foliage - vines should he thoroughly dusted with nicotine. A day or so later the leaves are washed off with a sprinkling of water, and the dusting is repeated if the aphids persist.

In damp weather sweet pea vines are sometimes affected by mildew. Sulfur dust, lightly applied on a morning when there is no wind, will usually take care of this disease.

In some localities home gardeners have trouble raising sweet peas because of a rot that attacks the plants at ground level. According to plant pathologists, such a condition may be caused by one of several fungi.

Some gardeners have been successful in combating root rot in garden peas by digging gypsum into the soil. The same method should benefit sweet peas. Gypsum is lime sulphate and its breakdown in the soil releases an acid which may act as a control.

Care of cut flowers. To enjoy sweet peas for a long season, it is necessary to pick the floWers before they wither on the vines. They should be gathered by carefully severing each stem close to the spot where it jidus the main vine. There is also a proper way to handle sweet peas to preserve their freshness. They should be held, or tied together, near the ends of the stems since pressure closer to the blossoms may cause the flowers to wilt from what amounts to strangulation.

Sweet peas are lovely in the garden, but they are equally prized for home decoration. The long stems, beautiful shades and tints, and large, well formed flowers of the Cuthbertson type make them particularly delightful for arranging in bowls and vases indoors.