Fresh supplies, p(l)eas(e)
Joan writes: Freshly cut salad leaf and pea shoots are hard to beat. My current crop is near exhausted so time to sow another batch.
Meanwhile, in lockdown, my niece has taken a shine to her garden space and has been growing a variety of things (albeit rather boring like as her Mum does things neatly…….) so I thought I’d do some ‘serious’ food growing with a bit of fun thrown in to keep me in both my sister’s and niece’s good books.
Meet the Pea Shoot Persons. They are good fun to be around and are generous with their produce. You might well have everything that is needed to hand to have your own.
What you need:
- Water retaining container to draw face on (yoghurt pot, cardboard cup, scooped out raw potato…….)
- Pens
- Compost or substitute with used teabags and cotton wool
- Peashoots or use dried peas from ‘broth mix’
- Something to mix in, spoon and a little water
Steps to success:
- Gather ingredients and get creative drawing faces onto your ‘pot’.
- Tear open used teabags and mix the tea leaves with shredded cotton wool. Mix up well with a little water to make a lumpy compost like mixture.
- Spoon ‘compost’ into the pots, keeping a little leftover. Press peas into the compost. I used 10 peas in my juice sized cup.
- Cover the peas with the remaining ‘compost’.
- Check daily for watering – keep the ‘compost’ feeling like damp sand. The shoots will grow creating a mop of edible ‘hair’.
How long will it be before your person has their first hair cut?
Cut the shoots when they are young and tender, around 4cm tall and the shoots will grow again – just like our own hair!
Send us photos of your hairy pea person!
Happy Gardening! Joan