From our perspective as Sweet Pea plants, our roots are our entire world. They are our mouth, our stomach, and our anchor. We crave consistent moisture in the soil to drink up the water and dissolved nutrients we need to fuel our rapid growth and produce the beautiful blooms you admire. However, we are not aquatic plants. Our roots also need to breathe. If the soil around us becomes saturated and waterlogged, the air pockets are flooded, and our roots begin to suffocate and rot. This is a death sentence. Therefore, the perfect watering schedule for us is one that keeps our soil consistently like a well-wrung-out sponge – moist to the touch but never soggy or saturated.
Our water needs are not static; they change dramatically as we grow. When you first plant our seeds or transplant our seedlings, we require gentle but frequent moisture to encourage our young, tentative roots to venture out into the surrounding soil. A light watering every other day or so is perfect, ensuring the top inch of soil doesn't dry out. As we mature and our root system establishes itself, we can search deeper for water. During our main vegetative growth phase, a deep, thorough watering that soaks the soil to a depth of at least 6 inches, performed once or twice a week, is ideal. This encourages our roots to grow deep and strong, making us more resilient.
When we begin to produce buds and flowers, our thirst increases significantly. Blooming is an energetically expensive process for us. We are channeling vast amounts of water and nutrients into creating each intricate flower. At this stage, inconsistent watering is our greatest enemy. If we become too dry, we will go into survival mode. To conserve resources, we will abort our flower buds, drop existing blooms, and our growth will stall. You might see our leaves wilt and our stems go limp. Please do not let this happen. During hot or windy weather, you may need to water us deeply every other day to meet the demand of our spectacular display.
You must become an interpreter of our environment. We cannot tell you we are thirsty in words, but we give you clear signals. The most reliable method is the finger test. Push your finger into the soil near our base, down to about the second knuckle. If the soil feels dry at that depth, it is time for a deep drink. If it feels cool and moist, we are content. Also, observe the weather. A hot, sunny, or windy day will pull moisture from our leaves and the soil much faster than a cool, cloudy, or humid day. A thick layer of organic mulch around our base is a gift we deeply appreciate, as it helps regulate soil temperature and drastically reduces moisture evaporation from the soil.
