Playing Catch up & Kill 'Em

Nemaslug Review

As this year I have been MEGA crap at sowing anything at all at the right time (due to personal circumstances) I have a lot of bare soil at the moment.  To top it off there are millions of big fat juicy slugs and huge snails this year thanks to Britain's dire weather; it's rained almost every day for months, with the occasional flash flood (to add that extra groan and mutterings about needing to emigrate!).  Have no fear though for the sluggy snaily things (technical gardening term) can be dealt with by Nemaslug.  If you don't know what this is it comes as a packet mix of micro-organisms that go to live in your soil and eat your pest by destroying slugs from the inside, they die in the ground (where they live), so no mess to clear up and unlike slug pellets there is absolutely no risk to pets, children or wildlife (so anything eating the dead slugs get no ill effects at all).  I was a bit sceptical but I won a free packet last year from following Chase Organics on Twitter (thanks guys!) and I have to say, it really does work brilliantly!  I have bought another pack which will go on the garden today, within 2 weeks the slugs will be pretty much all dead.  Brutal? maybe...but safe and effective!

Aaanyway, this week I planted out the peas that I had grown in tiny newspaper pots.  They are Early Onward variety, so...um...a bit late!  But they are growing great guns (that's an expression, I haven't yet managed to grown legumes with firearm capabilities!), I reckon they will catch up and maybe give me a late crop if we end up with some late summer sun (ever hopeful!).  I germinated 2 cucumbers with an idea to maybe see if I can force them up to speed by growing them in the sunny extension (will that work? who knows, I don't) and also 2 pumpkins...because I love pumpkins so I'll give it a go and cross my fingers.  In the mean time, have a picture of the garlic scape I had on my Elephant garlic (it's a bit mature, they start out curly and then straighten with age).  I chopped it up and ate it in a vegetable omelette.  Yum!

This is a garlic scape, you can leave them on but the thought is that the garlic bulb will be smaller if you do.  So chop them off and lightly cook and eat them.

Po-ta-toes!

This cute specimen of Greyhound beauty is Lenny, who's 12 years young. You wouldn't think a bag full of raw, mud covered Maris Pipers would have so much appeal to the canine nose would you?

This pile of spuds is from the middle bed, and is about 4/5 rows worth. I was hampered in my harvest by having had my first horse riding lesson the day before (argh my poor legs!). Still it was exciting to dig in and unearth handfuls of Maris Pipers, rolling out like pale yellow treasure.

Issues: A few had tiny holes in which I am presuming to be Keel slug damage (as Maris Pipers are susceptible anyway), but to be fair that was only a tiny number which I ditched. Most are affected by common scab (also common both with Maris Pipers and sandy higher pH soil) but it's only cosmetic so who cares! I am trying nemaslug next year as after a slow start the garden is now a slug haven...and my beer traps don't work in the rain!

All in all, a mighty fine treasure haul!

Auguest/September Update

The chicken above is Nessa, who is turning out to be a large but shy sister of chickenhood. Usually found lurking at the back.

This is Clara, very plucky...and very plucked! This is her surprised face as the camera whirred and flashed. She's not very shy really, bottom of the pecking order but very cheeky.

This is Ruby, she is exceptionally bossy and cheeky and has a thing for jewelery, if I hand feed her it's 10% eating food and 90% eyeing up and pecking my silver rings and bracelet. She let me pick her up this week, and she grudgingly lets me stroke her. She's usually found up to her ears in the food bowl.

A nice group shot, I think they are looking a bit better already. Note my lawn...or what used to be my lawn. Every time I open the run door (the one opened to take the pictures) 2 little heads poke though to eat the fresh grass on the other side. This week they will be moved to a fresh bit, we are just waiting for the run extension to arrive. Egg laying has settled now, we are down to one or two a day.

Swiftly to the garden...September is here, it seems to have come around quickly. Thinks are still ripening in the garden, but it's sunny today, you never know, I might be lucky and get them all to ripen before the cold weather sets in.


Kale...kale is hard to grow, it germinates fine but the slugs looooove it so it gets ravaged! Hence my home made beer traps to the right of the picture. The kohlrabi is suffering a similar fate, I have replanted it all twice!

Cucumbers are growing at last!

The fennel's in the large tub are growing really well, the one in the border was a slug casualty, I think there was so much lettuce in there and damp places that I was doomed really. All the lettuce has been pulled (save for a few bolted ones that will become chicken treats) and the peas were 90% finished so most of those have come up now, that bed is now dedicated to onions (I found ones you can grow this time of year) and kohlrabi and kale. It's nice to know you can still start things growing this late.

Seed pods on the radishes. As well as providing seeds with which to grow more radishes next year (cunning) I left some radishes to flower because the pods are good to have as a snack with beer. Nath seems to agree, personally I hate radishes in pretty much any form!


You can see how much everything has grown over the summer, there are 2 large pumpkins for Halloween and we've eaten lots of the flowers fried in spiced batter, delish! Yesterdays pruning of rhubarb which was really getting in the way (to the front right of the picture) resulted in rhubarb crumble for pudding, nomnom! The little row of stones at the front marked the place where I have planted the Mizuna (Japanese greens which can be eaten raw in salads or cooked).

One thing that is in absolute abundance in the garden in ladybirds, and I'm happy to say all native species. They are all over the grass and the veg garden. Mostly 7 spots ones like the above but I also saw a 2 spot on the compost bin. The garden is also covered in their larvae, munching though the black fly on the potato tops.

Last picture today. We grew 2 sunflowers and competed to see who's would grow the tallest. Mine lost, but the bees love it anyway, one's it has seeds I might see if I can rescue some from the birds and squirrels!

Finally, a word of warning, do not bend over in low cut trousers at this time of year, you may find a daddy-long-legs decides to try to fly down your bum crack, causing much squealing and hysterical flapping! You have been warned!