But the two batches of dwarf beans and the squash/courgette/cucumbers can't live in pots in the courtyard garden forever, getting waterlogged, eaten by snails and going yellow with lack of feed in their compost, so I dodged today's heavy showers and set off to the Hill.
I was extremely pleased to see the peas zooming up their wigwams, and I had to spend a few minutes with ties making sure they stayed where they were supposed to be. Not so good (in fact terrible) were the French beans that I planted out a couple of weeks ago - the slugs/snails have had an absolute field day with one batch of beans totally disappeared, and only the runners just about holding their own.
It started raining, and I was very gloomy about the slug damage to the beans, carrots and - now I came to have a look - the row of decimated lettuce, so once I had planted out the last couple of batches of beans, I resorted to a sprinkling of slug pellets. Not loads - in fact a slaloming slug could pick its way through, if sufficiently determined, but if I want any beans at all, I can see no way round it.I still don't know if it is the slugs eating the carrot seedlings as they emerge, or if I have a dicey packet of carrot seed - I sowed a row of a different variety to see if it makes any difference. I am half hearted about carrots - by the time the slugs have had a go along with the inevitable carrot fly, there is very rarely anything looking like a carrot left for me to eat in any case.
I got my head down and weeded the onions, the beds for this years miscellaneous crops and the nursery bed whilst weathering another shower, then planted out the concurbits, and a dozen calabrese plants that I bought at the garden centre a couple of weeks ago.As always, I could have spend days just weeding, but it all looks better - and despite the best endeavours of weeds/slugs/weather, I will very shortly be eating broad beans and new potatoes, something I wouldn't swap for the world.
We aren't quite waterlogged but very soggy here too! the squashes don't seem to like it all and the beans are all just sitting there! Have you tried environmesh on the carrots to stop the fly, works great on the leeks too!
ReplyDeleteI might have to save up my pennies for environmesh, Trudi - I certainly will if I find continued leek problems. Jus' luuurve leeks!
Deletelooks like we are all stuck with soggy gardens.Okay I know that in the UK what you call a garden we call a back-yard here in Canada. So is a veggie garden still a garden or something else...When I lived there I we did not grow any veggies...
ReplyDeleteOur gardens are smaller on average that you have in Canada, I think, Mrs P, so people don't always have the room to grow veg at home - especially if they want flowers and space for the kids to play too.
DeleteI have a small courtyard garden at the back of the house which is paved, so all I can grow there is in tubs or pots - so that's where the allotment sites come in.
I think that you might call them Community Gardens - we've about 45 plots on our site with a club house and stores shop too. The site is at the back of a small housing estate, about 3 miles from where I live - most of the plotholders will live a bit closer to the site than that, I think.
Allotment sites are really popular here - there are waiting lists all over the country - some sites in London have waiting list of some years!
Soggy gardens the world over. I'm in Australia and when I went to my allotment yesterday the ground was still pretty heavy to work in places. I am really interested in following your blog Hazel and Jane as I remember visiting Sutton Coldfield when I lived in the UK. I still have a cousin living there.
ReplyDeleteHi Jean - lovely to see you visiting Sutton Coldfield! What a small world it is!
DeleteI think that you are allowed to have soggy ground given that you're in the middle of Winter - we've just had the longest day here, and - boy - we had some thunderstorms!
Oh Hazel, how depressing to have the slugs destroying what you have managed to get planted. I think we're all suffering with weather this year; I've just been outside to top up the bird feeders and found that last night it was only 8 degrees in the greenhouse. No wonder my tomato plants are still barely 6" high.
ReplyDeleteConsole yourself with the fact that despite rain and slug attacks, you still have WAY more home-grown food to eat than I do.
Grump grump grump. Although I have just looked back at the pics of the tomatoes from the 5th June post, and I'm please to say they are making some good growth now.
DeleteThis rain is getting on our nerves you can't get anything done. We are in the same boat with planting everything out in waterlogged ground It is supposed to be dry for three days this week. Fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteI had a look at your plot today, and everything seems to be coming along a treat, especially those cucumbers in JB's old greenhouse - I am jealous!
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