Tuesday 15 September 2009

Powdery Peas

We thought we would have a last weekend camping before autumn really kicked in so we headed to North Norfolk for a couple of nights and some seaside fun. We drew butterflies in the sand, built sandcastles, buried shells and went bird watching. It was a lovely end to the summer but unfortunately we have all come back full of a cold.

Feeling a little worse for wear we headed into the garden yesterday to harvest the weekends produce and also to tidy up a bit. We got our first harvest of sweetcorn which has grown really well. Garden Girl and Garden Boy loved helping me unwrap the corn which were like little parcels. We had an abundance of tomatoes, marrows and cucumbers and even a couple of strawberries for our Little Garden Helpers.

We also felt obliged to harvest all our peas which have been disappointing. It was our own fault as we left it too late in the season to sow them and the didn't put the supports up early enough. A lesson learned for next year. So what went wrong? Well, one of the varietes seemed to have suddenly dried up before they really fattened up and the other, on our return from Norfolk, was coated in a white powdery substance. We are not sure if these ones are safe to eat as we have no idea what the coating is. Has anyone seen this before?

Garden Dad also worked on after the rest of us had retrested indoors for a hot cuppa, and he dug over some ground so we can plant some broad beans which hopefully we will feel well enough to sow one day this week. Though I must admit we have been languishing indoors this morning, building towers and colouring in. Maybe tomorrow, after another nights sleep, we will feel fitter and more energetic. In the meantime at least we have some delicous veggies to help our recovery.

5 comments:

  1. The powdery stuff is called powdery mildew which affects a myriad of plants and especially peas late in the season. The peas inside will be fine to eat, so enjoy.

    Sounds like you all had a lovely time, sorry you're all down with the cold though. I think our home has to brace itself for a similar attack, my four year old is already down with it and my eldest said her throat was a bit itchy this morning, I'll see how she feels when I pick her up from school this afternoon.

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  2. I'm glad you had a wonderful getaway, but sorry about the rotten souvenir. Hope you are all better soon. How could it be otherwise with all those beautiful vegetables?

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  3. You went camping? In September? Are you mad?

    After that kind of canvas-based torture, I would be feeling a little like the peas.

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  4. It sounds like you had a wonderful time. Hope you're all feeling better soon.

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  5. Endorse Kella's advice - the peas inside will be fine. Hope you all feel better soon.

    xxx

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