May 2026 Garden | Sweet peas aren't growing as much as I thought

Sweet peas transplanted in April.
I thought they would grow a bit faster,
but even in late May, they are surprisingly slow.

Based on last year's experience,
I had an image of the vines going wild,

Huh?
Was it always like this?

That's how I'm feeling. 😕

But if you look closely, they aren't withered.
The leaves are definitely increasing,
and the color isn't that bad either.

It seems that right now,
they are working harder underground than above ground.

Because of their name and appearance,
I've always seen sweet peas purely as 'flowers',
but when I think about it,
they are just legumes.

Beans.

I have such a strong image of Seiko Matsuda that
I've never recognized them as 'beans' in the garden.
Besides, legumes often prioritize roots over leaves at first.

So it seems that for a while after transplanting,
it can look like the top has stopped growing.
They're the type that does construction work where you can't see it.

Also,
the garden is windy at this time of year.

The soil dries out easily,
and it's pretty hard mode for small seedlings.

Especially in my garden,
the soil is on the sandy side,
so if I'm not careful, the moisture gets sucked out all at once.

On the other hand, it's not bad that they aren't spindly and leggy.
If there's a lack of sunlight,
they would grow thinner and longer and go wild.

Thinking about it that way,
maybe they aren't 'not growing',
but are still in the warm-up phase.

Sweet peas
do well in the cool spring weather,
and their momentum drops suddenly when it gets hot.

So this time of year
is quietly a 'critical growth period'.

I set up supports this year too,
so it should be interesting once the vines start to climb.

Those thin vines,
before you know it, they've grabbed onto somewhere else overnight,
so every year I can't take my eyes off them for a second.
In the garden,
there are some things that give you "immediate results,"
but I also quite like
this kind of "time spent quietly preparing."

Thank you for coming to see my garden again today.
☺️