Kitchen Garden Forum

Well it's bucketing down here
Yet again!
I have broken up for half term today, so it's bound to rain til we go back a week on tuesday

JB-Yes that's it!

Although I'm so glad to have this rain and be spared the endless trips to my patch with the watering can, I still can't help feeling grumpy about downside of the downpours which have lead me to ponder three headscratchers:
(1) Why do weeds germinate far quicker than my veg seeds?
(2) What was God's plan when he devised slugs?
(3) Why do said slugs bypass weed seedlings to eat my seedlings?
Unanswerable questions....
By the way, hello Redcar Gary, seeing your posting name made me quite nostalgic for my home ground of some years ago!

On the subject of slugs, which are rapidly becoming the bane of my life, ...
sorry if this is an unaswerable question, but what is the best way to deal with them in weather like this? I put slug pellets down but they get washed away, I can put saucers of beer out, but it gets watered down...
any other suggestions? (& I, too, want to know why they ignore the bindweed & other weeds & head sraight for my marrows?!)

Well Zena the simple answer is if you wouldn't eat it they won't either (more or less), strangely enough my lettuces have been largely unaffected, maybe because I put Bran arund them but have not done that for some time......the old bran stays in a cake like weetabix for about 8 weeks, by which time the plants are healthy and estabished enough to survive a bit of nibbling.

You can also set traps like a square of polythene from an old compost bag which they will hide under and u can then crush em or choose your own fate for them.

Never mind damage to new seedlings Peter, we had one of our very large willow trees fall down in a windy squall the other day! Fortunately not too much damage, but the brocolli not got by the pidgeons, (see other thread) has been mostly squashed under the fallen tree! Just a bit of fence damage as well, but lucky I wasn't still weeding where I had been earlier as could have been a bit of a headache! Then to top it all my DOH Jack fell when the ladder broke during some damage limitation later on in the day - just a couple of scratches, and he kept apologising to the remaining parts of tree he was having to cut down! A warning to everyone - check your trees now. With all the leaves on they are in danger during unusual windy weather this time of year.
Polly

[quote="Zena"]On the subject of slugs, which are rapidly becoming the bane of my life, ...
I can put saucers of beer out, but it gets watered down...
quote]

Put a slate or tile over the saucer of beer, propped so it doesn't prevent slug access, but does provide a rain roof.

thanks for the tips re slugs - i shall try both. I also stocked up on salt today so shall go out slug hunting tonight, by torch light

Help, there is this strange yellow disc hanging from the sky.....

I know, I took the day of work, went to the plot and 10 minutes later Seedling turned up. We spent the whole day planting stuff out, eating a picnic lunch and having a wonderful time. Back to normal tomorrow I suppose; work and rain...

I had to go out yesterday afternoon,when I left it was dull and windy,when I got back three hours later it was hot and sunny,I had to do a life saving watering on my poor greenhouse plants who thought they'd suddenly moved to a desert.

quote="Zena"]On the subject of slugs, which are rapidly becoming the bane of my life, ...
I can put saucers of beer out, but it gets watered down...
quote]

From the June edition of KG magazine, Letter & Tips, page 30.

Take an empty 1 pint square plastic milk container, complete with screw top. Cut a flap in the side at whatever distance from the bottom you think best, and bend it outwards slightly. Put beer in the bottom of the container and seat it into the ground so the bottom open edge of the flap is just above ground level. This way the beer does not get watered down.

Belinda - what a fantastic idea (I really must read some of my back issues some time!)
Guess what I'm going to be doing this weekend......

I do a home made version too, you know those little pots you get desserts in? Shallow bowl shaped ones? Or I suppose yoghourt pots would do as well - anyway (sorry, rambling again!) get two of them, poke a hole in the middle of the bottom of each and then with the open ends of the pots facing, push a short cane through. Position the lower pot so the rim is at soil level and partly fill with beer (or slug pellets ) The top pot can be adjusted up or down according to weather or size of expected victim.
Clear as mud eh!