The progress of the raised bed; Huw's book tells me I should cover the empty sections with cardboard to keep them weed free through the winter months, so I have.
The 'red frills' mustard, and mixed salad leaves are coming on a treat, and I'm excited to see the spinach peeping through. Row 10 contains freshly planted garlic [to deter winter vampires]
At one end I have two pubs with 'DanPak' roofs, for slugs who may like continental beer.
At the side, I've used the lid from a tin of custard powder, supported on BBQ skewers. I am not convinced slugs can read, or will appreciate the red colour. We wait and see. Obviously the best result is no slugs at all - but if they do get into the bed, then they can die a happy inebriated death...[in Lidl's cheapest booze]**
My Tatsoi seedlings are struggling, I think I will only have half a dozen to plant out - but never mind, there is always next year.
** Huw's book does not tell me how to dispose of drowned slugs. Any advice on this would be very welcome, please!
I love the slug traps and hope they work but I have no idea on how to dispose of the corpses.
ReplyDeleteThat's looking great - don't know what you were worried about! I just chuck slugs onto the grass for the birds. Perhaps they'll like boozy ones too!
ReplyDeleteA bit like Wine gums! But Beer Slugs!
DeleteI usually just bury them but I don't know if that's a good idea. I like Veg Artist's idea of spreading the joy by giving boozy corpses to the birds!
ReplyDeleteI'm fascinated by the idea of flocks of drunken birds meandering across the wide Norfolk skies...
ReplyDeleteIt's looking really good!!! I'd just stick the slugs in the compost since they are organic matter but I'm not sure if that's right or wrong!
ReplyDeleteThink you might need direction signs to the slug pubs otherwise by the time they've found them, those rows might just have been munched through!Also, I'd get some netting to put over the seedlings once they're getting established to protect from any hungry pigeons and other birds. You can dispose of the 'expired' slugs on your compost heap.That cardboard's never going to last through the winter rain,hail or snow. Bits of carpet are better for that particular use but really, the weeds will be easy to deal with if left uncovered. Great job on the raised bed.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips Anne, thank you
DeleteVery impressive start in the raised bed! I have heard that crushed egg shells are a good deterrent for slugs as they hate moving over anything sharp. So you just create a crushed egg shell barrier. Diatomaceous earth is another substance they don't like to walk on, so I've heard.
ReplyDeleteI will encourage Bob to put the shells from his breakfast eggs directly outside, not in the compost then!
DeleteWhat a great use for eggshells! When our daughter was young she belonged to a nature group run by Swedish folk. We used to gather our eggshells and throw them in the river. It's supposed to be good for the water.
DeleteBake the egg shells in the oven first before you put them out. Just have an old foil food tray permanently in the oven and throw any egg shells in and then they are ready to make whenever you use the oven.
DeleteI have one garden bed where I cannot eradicate the slugs. Beer has never worked well. I keep them confined there and under control by feeding them coarse corn meal, which they eat up but can't digest. I call the area my Slug Bed, tho really it's the sedum bed as that seems to be the only plant they don't devour! Good luck. Celie
ReplyDeleteI'd not heard of corn meal before.
DeleteYour raised bed looks great and I really enjoyed seeing the slug traps! I've no idea how to get rid of slugs, however. I used to have snails in the garden, I haven't seen any, recently.
ReplyDeleteI also find Tatsoi the most difficult of the mustard salad leaves to grow - it's much slower to make leaves & everything likes to eat it. Mizuna mustard leaves come in many shapes, flavours & colours, and grow much, much more vigorously - so they can be cropped over a longer period. (They also make good large, tasty stir fry leaves if left for longer.)
ReplyDeleteThank you - I was disappointed by the germination rate, and the ones that did germinate seem to be Very Slow Growing. I am noting this in my journal and will reconsider next year. Huw suggest Chinese Cabbage or Mizuma as an alternative - so your comment is really helpful!
DeleteThere are varieties of spinach, spinach beet, radishes, turnips, carrots specifically for autumn sowing. The tender young leaves of all these can be picked repeatedly for salads & then if left they will also go on to make small veggies. If you can construct a cloche - a couple of bits of polycarbonate sheeting propped up in a triangle against sticks or polythene sheet over wire - your leaves will grow much faster & stronger (even outgrow the slugs!) Happy growing :).
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