Believe it or believe it not, it’s over 70 years since I first did what I did today. With life’s whirligig, how satisfying that at least one thing never changes.
Under instruction from Dad so long ago, but alone now, I set my first row of peas. How ironic, the variety, as then, was “Onward”. Dig a shallow ditch, two spades wide. Chop the ditch bottom with the spade to create a smooth soil surface. Use the back of a four-prong fork to produce the straight lines along which each pea is planted. Four regiments of little soldiers. Use the spade to break into small pieces the soil dug out to create the ditch. Backfill. The packet said it contained 275 peas. So, some are not needed – yet. Retain because some peas will not germinate or get predated.
Just as all those years ago, the broad beans are starting to push their heads through the soil but the early potatoes are not yet visible. I can still see my dad setting his row as I set mine. Thank God some things never change.
