Early Summer Bits and Bobs.

[tigerburnie]

Lovely day, radish and strawberries picked for lunch.........but not in the same sandwich..........................

[retropants]

I've had a few strawberries, but the early lettuce and carrots were feasted on by slugs, so vanished entirely. The aubergines, chillies & peppers I planted out into their big pots yesterday, they will stay in the greenhouse. I've kept a couple of each back to put outside under the tomato shelter, but there's no plastic on it yet, I've got to cut up the old cover and fasten it to the new wooden frame we made. The tomatoes are raring to go, thankfully I added poultry manure pllets to their pots, so they have plenty to keep them growing until we had the laurel barrier in and now their cover built (hopefully today or tomorrow). Do I plant out the brassicas? They are already ravaged by the slimy things, I don't think they'd survive open ground!

[oldherbaceous]

Do you not like using slug pellets, Retropants?

[tigerburnie]

I don't use chemicals here, rather try alternatives first, hedgehogs and thrushes die after eating slugs/snails that have eaten pellets.

[Westi]

Well I continued with the weeding, but had to do more re-sows as well. I think waiting 2 weeks for the lettuce was long enough, but the Swedes, Kohl & Celeriac are up on their 3rd sow. I think I will be in contact with the dairy farmer end of year & get some more manure delivered as I don't think the stuff I bought is 100% manure as it has not really loosened the soil & left it darker like real manure does, & although rain in the mix it should not have washed it away & there is little evidence I have done anything!

But on the positive the strawberries don't give a hoot & as predicted a total overload. I only picked from 2 beds as didn't want to miss the bus & dog was being whiny & annoyingly trying to help! Thinking a nice strawberry custard tart could be on the menu!

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[Myrkk]

Hmm, that’s a few posts that have disappeared in the last day…
Nom Westi, they look yummy.

May or may not appear… can’t remember what I typed originally

[retropants]

I don't like to use the pellets, as we have a lot of birds that ground feed and there's also the occasional hedgehog. I am picking them up when I see them, and looking undeneath things in dark damp places for the ones that are hiding. They all get evicted to the grass verge by the road. My friend says that I am being too kind, she drowns them in a bucket.

[Myrkk]

I’m the same Retro… have used wool pellets for the first time this year and they really work. It’s expensive though so might try and recover some of it once it’s done its job and recycle it next year. Did find a woollen roll to use in the garden, that might be easier.
Otherwise I’m thinking some good old fashioned beer traps

[Westi]

I was given a compressed wool as a gift from a friend who advised cutting it in collars to use around plants. Seemed to work for a while but then noticed it was looking moth eaten so couldn't figure that until my bind weed chasing found a rat run that was nicely lined with multicoloured wool! You have to admire these little nuisances for their creativity though.

There are slug pellets that are safe to use & wildlife friendly now. Ferric Phosphate ones are certified & approved by Organic Farmers & Growers....but buy UK ones, don't go near the Chinese online as no guarantee!

[Geoff]

When I saw that other thread was live I thought it was a weather comment, we could skip Summer B&B and go straight to Autumn.

[Westi]

Plot 1 is finally fully weeded, re-sows done & fingers crossed! Looks so neat & tidy, so rather proud I took the effort to dig & not hoe the weeds out as will give me time to tackle Plot 2, before they pop up again. Plot 2 will be a doodle in comparison, as the seed onions, garlic etc are ready to harvest so a clear field to play with the hoe, so just the brassica's to weed but they are growing well & getting big so limiting some weed growth themselves.

[Geoff]

Quite a few things didn't think much of last evening's hailstorm, runner beans look particularly unhappy.

[Clive.]

We had the hailstones a few years ago, that shredded hosta and courgette leaves and even damaged some conservatory roof along the road just North of here....happy to stick with today's dry, with occasional sunshine. I remember that my mum saved some hailstones in the freezer, to show us what had occurred..

Got a few things tidied in the back garden, second string around broad beans, sowed some carrots, that I wasn't going to bother with, and filled in the gaps in the beetroot and chard rows. Crawled about within the raspberry rows to catch some weeding that had escaped me whilst my attention leans towards the big garden....
...and had a general hoe and weed within the quite tidy area and a little break out into the less good bit....but much much more needed..

C.

[oldherbaceous]

They are predicting a light ground frost here, in the early hours of Sunday morning!

There’s always plenty to do, Clive…..

[Westi]

Well today I got caught by a very chatty plotter so didn't finish my chores. I was ducking & diving him on the plot up to now, as he whistles all the time so know he is coming; but he drove past while I was edging & weeding the outside flower beds. I am now officially up on all his challenges & updates on lots of other plot holders who I don't even know as our site is huge.

Hopefully if he is down on Sunday he will park his car on his plot front 2 roads away & go back to walking & whistling as Sunday is the last fine day for a week & I am so close to finishing my list!