Reply to THIS thread
Start a NEW Talkback Thread
Talkback Home

SWEET PEAS - Helen (16th Feb 2007 - 15:54:16) Hi My mother and I are planting a field of sweet peas this year. This is a first time venture and we plan to sell bunches at maybe car-boot sales and at PRC Digital the photo-lab on London Road near the library. We will be planting over a thousand plants so predict hundreds of bunchs by the summertime! Sweet peas are popular with many people and I just wanted to get some feedback as to what people think about the idea and has anyone any ideas about selling and marketing them in other areas? Any thoughts appreciated. Thank you

Re: SWEET PEAS - vicky (17th Feb 2007 - 14:22:28) Sounds a lovely idea I would buy some from u.. I believe food is not allowed to be sold at car boots though... sweet peas are flowers Re: SWEET PEAS - vicky (18th Feb 2007 - 11:20:27) My apologies..how thick am I.... Re: SWEET PEAS - John (18th Feb 2007 - 21:38:53) Oh dear ,that's the best laugh i've ever had on here ! Re: SWEET PEAS - Chris (19th Feb 2007 - 06:35:08) Sounds a great idea. Where are you planting them? I would imagine the aroma when they are in full bloom will be intoxicating. Re: SWEET PEAS - Paul Robinson (19th Feb 2007 - 10:04:52) Best of luck with your project. Whenever we have tried to grow them we have been singularly unsuccessful. Why not have a chat with Findlays the florists in the square. Re: SWEET PEAS - Colonel (19th Feb 2007 - 14:11:54) Excuse me!! Sweet Peas are entirely edible - been making aromatic soup out of 'em for years! Damn good for gout as well. Re: SWEET PEAS - liza Menzies (19th Feb 2007 - 15:14:03) Really?!! Do you have a recipe? Re: SWEET PEAS - Allan (19th Feb 2007 - 17:32:56) Now, now Colonel. I fancy your feeling a wee bit mischevious here. You don't state in your post whether the peas are good for curing gout or causing it, or on what scientific authority you make such a claim. Answers please!! Re: SWEET PEAS - liz (20th Feb 2007 - 08:22:53) The following link may be of interest.... particularly the trivia ....! www.lathyrus.com "Sweet peas are not edible, being somewhat poisonous if eaten in quantity" Re: SWEET PEAS - Colonel (20th Feb 2007 - 09:45:57) Delighted to provide a recipe Madam, but as for scientific bunkum Sir, 'fraid such stuff 'n nonsense doesn't cut the mustard with me! Ingredients for your soup - A good vaseful of said blooms 4 medium potatoes 4/5 skinned tomatoes (tip - get someone else to skin 'em as they can be bally difficult). Half a bottle red wine and half a bottle white wine - one for cooking the other for drinking, your choice. Salt, pepper and sugar for seasoning and a belter of cheap brandy - rougher the better for cooking, don't you know! To cook, you'll need a fair sized saucepan and a blender - if you haven't a blender, then quite frankly you're buggered and best resort to a tin of something from Sainsbury's. Anyway, here goes. Boil up the sweet peas until the water's gone a mud colour, strain, chuck the remains of the flowers, then boil the spuds in the juice until their skins start to split. (Suggest a breather here and a snorter or two as you've to remove the pots from the juice and let 'em cool before skinning) Once done, put all ingredients and seasoning in a fresh pan and boil the lot til mushy, bung in the blender, add a good dollop of marmite and whizz for a few secs. Bob's your uncle Madam, there's your soup - you'll be a new woman! "Sweet peas are not edible, being somewhat poisonous if eaten in quantity" - try this recipe at your own risk - especially with all that marmite ! - I wonder if we are having our stems pulled by the Colonel. Re: SWEET PEAS - Allan (20th Feb 2007 - 17:21:56) Dear Colonel Mustard, There is a medical condition known as "Latherysm". Affects the central nervous system much the same way as an over-indulgence in the cheap brandy (see above), i.e. confusion, partial paralysis(albeit temporary), and nausea. Excessive and prolonged exposure to the toxic effects of latheryis odoritus can lead to cerebral delusion and personality disorders such as habitual fantasising. Ring a bell?. For anyone else who is interested, the peas when young are incredibly sweet eaten raw, and can be cooked in the pod like sugar snaps or mange tout, but, BE AWARE, only when young and tender are they not toxic. The deterrent, of course, is that they are incredibly small and would take so long to harvest, shuck, etc. that by the time you had got enough to make the exercise worthwhile, they would probably have gone off in the meantime! Good luck, Helen. New enterprise should be applauded for the effort . Re: SWEET PEAS - Liza Menzies (21st Feb 2007 - 08:08:16) Dear Colonel, Thank you! Can't wait for the little beauties to flower so I can give your "Dahlia Smith" of all recipies a try. (Don't worry Ed, do have a blender so should be OK on that score and the chances of my actually still being vertical and reaching the end of the recipe look pretty remote - however, just in case I do I'll check it out with my pals at the National Sweet Pea Society but guess their conclusion may be the same as mine in that the sweet peas wouldn't stand a hope in hell against the alcohol in the toxicity stakes!) Nevertheless, thanks again Colonel my little Sweet Pea. P.S. Any other fun ideas for my handbook of 101 uses for the Sweet Pea? Re: SWEET PEAS - Eneida (21st Feb 2007 - 09:21:38) How about making bio-fuel from sweetpeas?? Just think how delicious are roads would smell! Actually the Colonel's recipe, just as it is, could probably power quite a few cars............. Eneida Re: SWEET PEAS - Liza Menzies (22nd Feb 2007 - 13:56:18) To answer your question Chris, we are growing them at Oaklea Farm in Bramshott. Brilliant idea Eneida about the bio-fuel, I'll look into it - perhaps it could be marketed as "Sniff 'n go" (or would that be better for loo freshener?). Well, we've grown veg for the last few years and although it was really popular, the knees are starting to protest - so hence the lovely up-standing SP's. Just wondering if anyone would be interested in a once-a-week stall at the farm here -we're busy making all kinds of SP related gifts, pot pourri, soap, candles (so far only managed to make Colonel mud-colour-candles, but hey, practice makes perfect . . . ) gift boxes, greetings cards etc.) and if so, what day of the week would suit best - or Sat or Sun or any day really? There would also be a chance to meet our many animals (if you like them) sheep, hopefully lots of lambs, horses, a shetland pony, a foal, a goat, donkeys, dogs, cats, a turkey, guinea fowl, chickens, ducks & chipmunks (do you think we'll have any time for the sweet peas?) and who knows (this is not for the faint-hearted) you might even get a chance to try the Colonel's Famous Gout Soup?! Re: SWEET PEAS - Maureen (25th Feb 2007 - 19:15:36) Helen Hope you are serious about your sweet peas,I grow them every year and the smell from them makes my summer.Me and my husband have a candlelit dinner every Saturday and I cut them fresh to put on our table,and the smell is wonderful. Re: SWEET PEAS - Helen (27th Feb 2007 - 14:18:18) Hello Maureen! Yes, we are completely serious about the Sweet Peas! We have grown them for the last few years in a small and rather amateur way, but now have done a lot of homework on how to grow them professionally, so hopefully we should have some good results. We love them too, so growing them and sharing them with others will be our idea of heaven! Re: SWEET PEAS - MARK WINTER (11th Mar 2007 - 13:08:20) We are a select home fragrance store in northern ireland and we find our sweet pea range to be one of our biggest sellers, many people hang bunches around the home, so were told, the pot pourri is very popular and i reckon selling at car boot markets etc is a great idea, try ebay as well, we have great success here andd there is a market for this, many natural healers etc use them.. Good Luck Re: SWEET PEAS - helen (14th Mar 2007 - 12:37:39) Many thanks Mark for your top tips - all very encouraging for our new venture - the little beauties are all now planted out and taking their luck with the weather! And while they are busy growing, we are manic in the soap, candle, pot pourri etc departement so fingers crossed! Re: SWEET PEAS - helen m (16th Mar 2007 - 11:36:36) oh! a local farm to visit - fantastic! Yes please - do you have anything set up already? would love to take the kids to see animals, buy local produce from the shop too! can't wait! RE: day of the week - any - you'll get floods of people! Re: SWEET PEAS - Helen (16th Mar 2007 - 12:26:36) Hello! We have just planted out the 1000+ sweet pea plants so hope to have the shop up and running by early June. We will post a notice on this website to let people know the day and directions. The children will love it, a good dose of country living on their doorstep! Hope to see you soon! Helen Reply to THIS thread Talkback Home Please contact us with any changes to entries, or posts that you feel should be removed, ensuring that you include the posts subject. All messages here are © 1999 - 2025 Liphook Ltd and must not be reproduced elsewhere without permission. © 1999 - 2025 Liphook Ltd Supported by DG & YSH Hosting This website is owned and operated by Liphook Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales - company number: 07468258.