Who ate all the Peas?

A lonely courgette.  Hopefully there will be more

 I haven't written too much about my vegetable patch as the weather has been so awful that nothing much has been happening out there.
It's getting a bit warmer, thankfully, but it's ridiculous that we've had to wait until July and August for the temperature to rise.  The main growing season is nearly over and there isn't much to show for it.
The runner beans and courgettes are starting to grow, much later than usual, and I've had a few broad beans.  The tomatoes are still small and green and the tattie crop isn't ready yet.

A good garlic crop

 But hooray, I have had success with the garlic crop.
I plant garlic in the autumn and let it overwinter as it actually needs cold weather to bump-start it into production.  A deluge of rain helped the bulbs swell and when it was time to dig them up I was more than pleased with the results.  I reckon I should have enough to cook with for an entire year but will probably lose most of my friends as they retreat from the fumes.
I also share it with my hens.  Apparently putting a clove on the ends of their perch helps deter mites.

I was very late planting out the seedlings of the calabrese (I was really busy on other projects - like going to work) and the plants got leggy sitting in the greenhouse.  I finally got them out into the garden and I'm hopeful of a couple of mouthfuls later on, but I doubt I'll get much more than that.

So, is it worth it?  All this work for what might be a small amount of produce?  It would be a lot quicker and easier to go to the supermarket and buy a bag of carrots.  They even come ready washed.  But it wouldn't give me the same satisfaction.
Every year in early spring my thoughts turn to the garden and the amazing display I'm going to have.  I always get really excited as I plan where the crops are going to grow and imagine the freezer full of produce, enough to last the coldest of winters.  But they are just that, thoughts.  Things rarely work out as I've planned.
Part of the problem is that I have to do virtually everything myself.  I don't have the raft of gardeners that the telly programmes have.  They beaver away in the background, enabling the presenters to show us the amazing results. I understand why this has to be, but it's a bit galling when I see their perfectly tilled acres of land and then compare it to my few square yards of veggie patch with the weeds thrusting through in an attempt to kill off anything I've put in there.
And getting home late from work and only having the time, energy and inclination to throw a bit of water at the plants in the greenhouse doesn't make for good practise.  They need care and feeding - not just a deluge of water as night draws in.

Mr Toad on his flowerpot

However, gardening organically, or as organically as I can, I do have a little help.
Mr Toad has resided in the garden for a couple of years (there might be more than one but he/she/they seem to like the same flowerpot)  and I rely on him to rid me of a lot of the slugs that relish these rainy summers.
He is has a shy nature and doesn't like being disturbed, so I leave him to his own devices.
As far as I know toads bury themselves into the ground in winter and re-appear in spring. I once dug one up by mistake, not having realised that fact.

I also enjoy the hover flies that appear every summer. They are great assistants in ensuring that the plants are pollinated and I shout loudly at people who think they are small wasps.  They are  innocuous and very important in the pollination process so lets give them a cheer.

The pea thief

However, one crop I never try these days is peas and I have a very good reason for this.  I used to grow them but couldn't understand why they kept getting eaten before I got there to pick them.
And one morning I found the culprit.
A certain dog, found in the middle of the crop with a suspicious amount of green pods hanging from her mouth.  I won't mention her name but followers of this blog will note that she also likes seaweed.