That was the last straw, and I will admit that hot pin-pricks of tears came to my eyes. Even nature is against me now? I suspect sparrows, as I am quite heavy-handed with my snail bait (as you can see). So after taking this picture for you (and for dad, to assess if there was any hope of valiant growth, or if should I re-sow), I gave the decapitated pea shoots a good drink of seaweed solution, to encourage them to solider on; threw around more snail bait, in case it was snails; and strung out some sparkly silver Christmas tinsel, to hopefully scare the birds away.
Nothing to do with the vegie garden: my clivia, finally flowering after who-knows how many years of refusing to. A bit of joy in a winter garden
Sorry you've had such a dismal week at work, I hope next week is much better. Your peas look a lot like my peas. I'm not sure who the culprits are either, I think the pea shoots must be so juicy and delicious they're just irresistible. CJ xx
ReplyDeletethank you CJ - me too. ohhh, and you are having pea thieves too! grrrrrr!
ReplyDeleteI hope your peas come back for you. And that work gets better. When my beans got decapitated this year a small handful made a recovery, but I lost the others. I barely have enough beans for the spot, but I figure it was good enough. I just hope they grow well.
ReplyDeletethanks daphne - i'm keeping my fingers crossed too - and I did sow another row just I case.
DeleteWe all have those weeks and it will improve. 'This too shall pass' is a good one to remember! I also share the pain of gardening frustrations :)
ReplyDeletethanks jem, for all your commiserations and sage advice. it's times that this that remind me that gardening is not always 'beers and skittles'! just like real life.
DeleteSo sorry to hear of your rotten week.
ReplyDeleteHow disappointing to have your seedlings so destroyed. Our veggie patches are supposed to be a retreat from the rat race and all the other nasties that spoil our day, not add to it!
I do hope that this new week gives you some relief from both the horrors of the working day, and the critters attacking your beans.
thank you jean :-) I hope so too! the tinsel I've put out looks so pretty, let's hope it does the job of scaring away the sparrows so the pea shoots can regenerate.
DeleteNothing worse than a bad week, but I find the garden is a wonderful healer though. Nothing like a pretty flower or forming harvest to take your mind off the mundane annoyances of real life. On the beans it could also be earwigs. I find them almost worse for destroying new plants than the snails and slugs. Don't know how to get rid of them yet though.
ReplyDeletebek, apart from damaged pea shoots, I agree - a garden can be a place of solace. I was at my parents' place and helped them do lots of weeding; between that and feeding the chooks and parental cups of tea, I feel much better.
Deletedon't see many earwigs here in my garden - I've seen them in mum's dahlias, but not in my veg patch. gah, a new pest to content with - just what I need! :-)
Isnt it awful that when things go wrong in one area it seems to spread out into other areas? I hope this weeks heralds new beginnings. I like the christmas decorations to keep away brids - must remember that!
ReplyDeleteit's Christmas in july! it certainly adds a festive touch to an otherwise bleak backyard, AA :-)
DeleteI'm so sorry about your peas and your horrible week. I've added you to the GSC link up since you said you were having difficulties. I hope that's okay. You can check the linkup here: http://rosehipsandrhubarb.com/my-july-garden/
ReplyDeletethank you so much RR - very appreciated.
Deleteand yes this has been a better week! i say that is because of everyone's kind wonderful thoughts.
Boo to those pesky birds. I hope that this week at work and in your garden you get a few wins and by the look of those brassica's you should have a win fairly soon. Glad that Kate added you in. I have only just got to my computer as my little lady is finally down for asleep.
ReplyDeletethank you lizzie - yes, that first little brassica head is very exciting, i'm thrilled! thanks to you and kate for your help with the techie monsters, i enjoy being part of the garden share.
DeleteSorry to hear you had a dreadful week e. I hope that all has been on the up since then. I hope you have scared off the pea eating pest, that is very annoying. I hate it when bugs eat my food! Your clivia is gorgeous, my husband loves those we brought a few with us from our previous home but they do not grow well were we are now. We have rarely had a bloom.
ReplyDeletethe clivia is so pretty, isn't it? mine had been in a pot until a couple of months ago, and very very pot-bound - so i think it is rewarding me for liberating it by putting out its first flower.
DeleteHa, that is what i said... but i htink it is sparrows! just as grrrrrr :-)
ReplyDeleteHey Miss ... not good news about your week or your peas. I think I would resow - maybe even bring some on indoors. I've never had a prob with sparrows, do you have rabbits ;) Hope the week gets better for you :)
ReplyDeletegee whiz, I hope I don't have rabbits! golly. there are wallabies around - my suburb is quite close to some tracts of bush, and I see their poop in my front yard - but I hope they haven't worked out how to leap the high fences to my back yard where the vegies are.
Deletegolly, all this wildlife I hadn't even considered! thanks frogpond!
I find growing vegetables equal parts joy and frustration. My biggest problem (apart from earwigs) is blackbirds, when I went down to the garden yesterday I found they had dug up the beans that had just started to shoot. Hope you are having a better week.
ReplyDeletehello jan, and welcome to dig in. blackbirds are actually my biggest problem, too! they scruff everything out don't they? and they eat my worms... I do actually love blackbirds though, they are so tame in my yard - in fact, I believe they think it's THEIR yard - they keep me company while I work. and their song is lovely.
Deletethank you I am :-)
Peas are so temperamental I find, for me they are either eaten by snails/slugs or the black birds are ripping them out or they have rotted due to the ground being wet... lol
ReplyDeletehello GH, and welcome to dig in! I've actually never had birds eat my peas before (scruffing them out, definitely!) - i'm wondering if it's because it's wintertime and not much to eat around. whatever the reason - grrrr!
Delete