Snow Pea Miracle!



Well, I told you you would be the first to know if Posy ever ate a vegetable at school. I know you have been on tenterhooks:) The Man is home for a few days, and yesterday morning he asked Posy if she could choose any vegetable to put in her lunchbox, what would it be? Amazingly, I have never thought to ask her this, just offered her whatever is available on hand. Her choice was... snow peas. Yes, the most out of season, outrageously expensive vegie at the supermarket. Seriously, I think she does this on purpose.

So I remortgaged the house, bought some snow peas and popped them in the lunch box this morning ('Oh goody,' says Rosy, 'Snow peas!' And proceeds to liberally add the vegetable gold into her daily collection of vegie slices). And the moment of truth, my first question when Posy came home from school, 'Did you eat the snow peas?' 'Well, yah,' she says nonchalantly, as if she ate vegies at school every day of her life. Praise be! My daughter may not die of scurvy after all!

This made me scurry outside to check on the progress of our own snow peas. Hmm, may be a little while before I can supply demand. To be on the safe side, I am increasing our snow pea square footage as of today. Of course, being August, it is on the chilly side to germinate seeds, but here is the secret to fast pea germination - soak them in lukewarm water for 24 hours or so before planting, or as long as it takes until the pea just begins to sprout. Then plant them, sprout side down (it is a root), water them once, after which you don't have to water them again until you see them sprout. Peas like very rich soil, lots of compost buried in a trench below the planting holes. They also like a sweet soil, so add a sprinkling of lime, and hopefully, this means lots of lovely fat snow peas for Posy.

Traditional English gardening lore says plant peas when the daffodils are blooming. Well, there are daffodils popping up all over Tasmania, so now is the time. If you want an Australian twist, plant peas when the first wattle starts blooming, which is also now. Enjoy the wattle and the daffodils and go plant peas everyone:)

Of course, by the time the peas are ready, they will be so last week, and Posy will be demanding cherry tomatoes.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hey, at least if she's demanding cherry tomatoes it's a veggie (ok, not technically but you know what I mean ;) ). And it's very close to tomato seed planting time too. :)
Jo said…
Yes, but snow peas will be ready in November, and the earliest cherry tomato we ever see arrives in January, when there is no school. By the time cherry tomatoes are here she will have developed a penchant for something tropical and mostly unobtainable. Actually, she wants me to buy her pomegranates, but I refuse because they are all flown in from the US. She is nothing if not a connoisseur:)
CJ said…
My littlest boy is not a fan of cooked vegetables, although he does okay with raw ones. Snow peas are his favourite, and for that reason I end up buying them, despite the price. I did grow some this year, but I need to try harder to get a longer supply of them next year.
Jo said…
Ah CJ, that is the trick, isn't it? Anyone can grow anything for a couple of weeks once a year, but it takes real skill and commitment to keep up supply, grow early and late. That is my mission for the next few years - learn how to be a master gardener. Of course, so far I have mostly failed at that. But I hope that means I am that many failures closer to success:)
Anonymous said…
You could always sell an older child for scientific experiments to fund the purchase of xxey vegies! Or just buy two snow peas for the self-inflicted scurvy sufferer. Ie, none for the rest of the family. Two snow peas at the check out would hardly weigh anything! Probably still cost $$$ though!
Linda said…
Your concern with your veggie- allergic daughter reminded me of a neighbour from 35 years or more ago. Their son, Karl, was in between the ages of our son and daughter. Karl was around 3 years old and would only eat bread and baked beans, was very thin and the health visitors and his Mum and Dad were getting SO concerned that he wasn't thriving. I suggested Karl came round for tea, set up a buffet style table in the kitchen- squares of cheese, sausages on sticks, carrot and cucumber sticks, tomato wedges, buttered bread buns, biscuits etc. I left the three children to their buffet and secretly watched from the hallway. Well, Karl saw our two picking up this and that, putting it on their plates and eating and he did the same. He literally ate something of everything on offer. When his Mum came later to collect him I said that I knew she would never believe what I had to say but Karl had tried and eaten something of everything I had on offer. Of course he didn't know I had seen him! What it did was to take some of the anxiety away from my neighbour and eventually everything became more normal. I think eating ( or not) is a form of control. If children know their eating patterns worry you they do it more. Try to back off a little. She will eat when she is hungry and also when she doesn't think it is a big issue for you.
Yang Saya Suka said…
Mothers' efforts to satisfy the kids are always a glory! Thanks for sharing your experience,
I 'm waiting for the next snow peas story, Jo.

Have a wonderful time with the kids,
Hari.
Heather said…
My kids always want the most expensive produce. Well, so do I, but I make do with more economical choices. At least you've found something she'll eat!! For now...
Jo said…
Lucinda, yes, I can't claim not to have threatened to sell the children before now..
Linda, you are truly a wise mama. And no doubt so right. I do try not to communicate my anxiety about food to the children, but children aren't stupid, and know much more than what we tell them..
Hari, thanks for your lovely comment, and welcome:)
Heather, I know. If it was just me I could live on peanut butter toast and apples for an awful long time.
Anonymous said…
Snow peas at $6.99 a kilo here today! Thought about you and bought some even though they weren't on my menu plan. I'm sure we will think of something!

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