Lathyrus odoratus

beautiful flowers. I tried growing this plant in Mumbai, but failed,
I think it requires a cool climate for flowering.

start your seeds indoor by starting them off by soaking in warm water (just a little) the seeds for a few hours or overnit…
if purchased from reputable dealer will have fungicide treatment and helpful bacteria therapy mixed in or coated so the warm water should be Babymilk warm, and little so that the same water can be added to the soil in your planter later that day… after you plant your seeds
soak for a few hours, plant in well draining soil (soil : sand: leaf compost: coir dust : processed cow manure… in this proportion: 4: 1: 1: 1: few teaspoons… and of this mixture… take about a teaspoon put in a glass of water mix, let settle and check pH… should be around 6.5…. if too far off adjust accordingly… let this plant soil stand for few day wet it thoroughly … then plant three seeds per hole…add the water saved early in the day… when the first few sets of leaves emerge… thin to two, replant the third in some other pot with the same soil mix… make a trellis if in a pot and balcony… pinch to let it be bushy, short and the flowers develop at the tip… so if many tips…obvious results…
NOW IS THE TIME… SO THAT WHEN DECEMBER ROLLs around it would be cool nites so that the buds will set…
In India I find Sutton seeds carries good quality sweet pea (lathyrus ) seeds… never eat its resulting seeds… laythriasisresults…. sutton seeds may even be treated for growing with fungicides and inquire about the nitrogen fixing bacteria…
called sweet pea because of NOT TASTE but the SWEET SMELL in the morning…
regardless … at the end you ‘ll have better soil than you started with… I did this a few years ago in Kolkata winter here and my Mom used to have great good luck growing them in winters in Kol…
Good luck….. let me know how you fare at this…
You perhaps know all this already… if you do, then pardon my lecture… otherwise these are useful tips for anybody, I learned from the teachers at nybg… and Cornell extension offices..

Thank you …, I will do as instructed by you. We have a good nursery here who sells the seeds of wellnamed brands like Suttons. only problem is our climate which is very hot than normal this year. I think all this is because of the global warming. Usually November day climate in Mumbai is around 30 c, but this year it is around 36 d c, but hope December will be much cooler and If I sow the seeds now I will have good bloom during December or January.

wow, …, you are a very good farmer too.

yes cityfarmers are a popular group all over the world..
similar groups also are sprouting everywhere, often may not be under the same umbrella..
but in the west, city farming is one way to keep your sanity and get back to nature..
here I have tried contacting one city farming group that usually have a stall at the kolkata book fair.. but did not get much useful cutting edge info or details I like what I wanted from them… seems they just do what their Mali tells them do to .. they are very nice.. but they had no idea about mixing coir dust, where to buy it from in small quanitites for balcony type use, or mixing styroform pellets to lighten the total weight of the pot.. etc..
… i think was interviewed for weekend magazine section of Telegraph newspaper and seems very nice and knowledgeable… may be I’ll contact her.. but she is in Bombay…