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Behind the Scenes of Sweet Pea Processing!

Did you know, many of our Sweet Pea varieties are produced by us at Monks Farm, Kelvedon, Essex.

First, our stock seeds are sown on the farm. We plant a mixture of Spencer Waved Mix and then we have individual coloured rows. The field will be in full bloom around May/June time.

Once the pods have dried, they are ready to be harvested. The mixed field is harvested using a combine, while the single colour rows are handpicked by our staff over the course of a few weeks.

Once all the pods have been harvested, they go to the warehouse to be cleaned. They go through various cleaning methods using a cleaning machine and a spiral to take out any dirt, stones, weeds or seeds which aren't viable.

Once the seeds have all been cleaned, they go to the laboratory to be tested. Each lot of Sweet Peas will be but into different batches. The seeds are weighed so we know how many seeds are in 1g. Each batch and variety will be tested. Our analysts sow 100 seeds of each onto wet paper towel. They're then bagged up and kept at the ideal growing temperature and humidity. After a few days, the seeds are taken off test and we record the results. The lab don't just check for germination, they check the roots and shoots of each, and look at the purity and vigour. The germination level is recorded on the test certificate and on our system. This process is very important as we ensure that our seeds are of the finest quality.

The final step is to get the seeds put into packets to be sold. These go through a machine that fills the individual foil insert with the correct amount of seeds, then puts the foil insert into a packet and glues the tab on the packet shut. 

Watch the short video below showing the cycle of Sweet Peas seed - from soil to shelf.