2025 so far..

Slugs… since May I have been stalking out of the house each night in the dark, just before going to bed. Torch in hand and yes…there they all are..sliming and munching away on my newly germinated seed. Ah well. What did I expect? for them to disappear magically, as if some slug catastrophe had occurred? They were out in force last year all right so they were bound to return this, with reinforcements. The vegetable patch is surrounded by an old loose stone wall built about 150 years ago with the local stone – conglomerate. To a slug wanting to start a family this is the ideal place to lay eggs and rear them. Sheltered from predators and a shaded gloomy crevice is the perfect start to a slug’s life. Then at night it’s an easy slither and slide to the delicate, tender and delicious vegetable seedlings. Especially lettuce. The king of foods if you’re a slug.

It is a hopeless task, expecting to deplete the local slug population by picking a paltry few – the ones under my torch radar – each night. There are millions of them. All I can hope to do is slow down the disappearance of the beginnings of a fine crop of lettuce.

I did end up with some lettuce after nightly culls. Ate some and now the prolonged drought with searing heat from the sun bearing down on them has caused them to suffer and respond by bolting. I think I’d do the same.

Over the years I have decided to stick to growing what survives in this hostile garden. Climbing french beans if I can keep the slugs off them in the early days. Courgettes. Leeks and brassicas (if the cabbage whites don’t get their way).

The biggest success this year was strawberries. This was unexpected although I did put some effort into weeding them and gently spreading chicken manure compost from the hens around them in the early days. This year I copied a daughter-in-law’s method of cramming the plants in close together to supress weeds and prevent drying out. They really don’t like drying out. Result was some deliciously fragrant tasting strawberries. Perhaps I will extend the bed next year. The raspberries have suffered from lack of water, they are thirsty plants and prefer the damp and wet climate of Scotland not southern sun and drought.

Slugmageddon

What a year for growing veg! First it rained and the weather refused to warm. Beans started off in the greenhouse where they grew well sulked in the ground next to their poles for weeks. Slowly and reluctantly they crawled up the poles..along with an army of slugs. Slugs have been relentless this year. Eveynight – and it is still worth doing even in September, I pick off slug after slug from lettuces, beans, brassicas (they loved those for some reason this year). Numerous attempts were made to germinate lettuces but failed. I ended up with 3 lettuce plants, cos type. Each night I have been picking off several slugs. They turned their noses up at the beer trap. I pick them (sometimes drag them – I can almost hear them screaming then stamp on them, squishing them on the slabs. Curiously next night these mounds of disemboweled slugs attracts many hungry slugs which seem to swarm around the rotting flesh. Weird.

I love dahlias. In order to see their beautifully vibrant blooms I have to pick slugs off the young shoots everynight. Usually the slugs lose interest when larger tougher leaves form but not this year. They are still at it even on the flowers themselves.

What a year..

Germination and survival

I think I’ve spotted some of those Black Russian tomato seeds germinating already. This is a huge surprise but just goes to show what a bit of heat adds. It’s like seeds in their beds with a blanket warmer on.

Inside the greenhouse the tender lettuce seedlings have survived. Encouraged by this I’ve transplanted nearly all of them now. The Charles Dowding seed plug trays are proving their worth. they have a very large hole at the bottom so once placed in a normal seed tray, they allow lengthening roots to stretch freely with no root binding. The speedy lettuces (sowed nearly a month ago) all have at least 2 true leaves and very long roots in some cases. We’ll see if they surge forward now immersed in compost from the garden laced with chicken manure.

The other seeds I planed were giant long leeks – my own seed. They were a success in the garden the year before last and the remaining ones spent the summer seeding themselves in huge seed heads, like giant..alliums..which is what they are I guess. Some had bent over into the soil and began seeding themselves (plants often work out better in the garden when I don’t interfere). Others were taken indoors, the seeds culled and I pickled them, in brine first then oil. They are delicious but even better tasting will be the wild garlic seed heads a bit later on in the year. The remainder I kept for seeds and so now they are underneath some fine compost, in Dowdings trays, hopefully regenerating themselves.

March Sowing

With the temperature slowly and reluctantly creeping up it seemed time to sow some more seeds. The onions, spring onions and broad beans I sowed last month..was it too early? were they showing any signs of life?

Despite Charles Dowdings warnings of seeds having a short shelf life I had recklessly sowed some old seeds anyway. He writes “Old ones germinate slowly and erratically. Also they grow less strongly” And to grow my own seeds to be more successful. The slow start was true – the onions took about three weeks! and the spring onions slightly longer. How do I know whether this is the result of old seeds or colder temperatures earlier? I report back on their weediness if that part of the prophecy is correct..

This year I have started trialling bought compost instead of using my own which is packed with weed seeds. In previous years I’ve had a fantastic gemination rate from a wide range of wild species not really appreciated as they try to suffocate the seeds I am trying to grow. To eat. Incidentally, my neighbour informs me that you can eat chickweed. It’s quite nice – I tried some. Frequently the weediest looking weeds had long clinging root systems far in advance of the poor delicate vegetable seedlings. After some research I’m trying Rocket Grow organic compost. Being costly I’m using it for the more delicate seedlings such as some speedy lettuce, onions and spring onions. The broad beans will have to compete with my own compost’s companions.

The speedy lettuce seedlings shot up speedily, as suggested by the name. Yesterday I planted some of them out. It won’t be long before the slugs are queuing up for them. I should have checked today..perhaps I’ll go out tonight…with my torch. The broad beans sulked. Careful not to overwater them this year I became too impatient last week and poked one or two to see if they were showing any signs of germination. Yep. They were. I really shouldn’t do that.

Yesterday I also sowed tomatoes indoors in the heated trays. Again old packets of seeds came out. I have an idea if I sow all of these old seeds then surely some might germinate;

Money maker

Black russian

Nello’s plum (these are ancient – I was given them about 20 years ago. Surely that’s a waste of time?)

Wilkos plum.

Ailsa Craig

Orange blush

Any signs of life will be suitably celebrated.

New Year Plans 2024

Existing seeds have been catalogued into a spreadsheet and embarrassingly I have about 300 of them! Many of the packets have been sent from my old subscription to Grow Your Own magazine. There’s a lot of duplicates – more carrot seeds than I could ever hope to sow, though most of my carrot sowing attempts have resulted in failure… Many are out of date so I’m not sure what to do with those. Perhaps put them on trial on some absorbent paper and see if they start germinating?

I have bought some fresh seeds though from The Real Seed company based in Wales. I’ve been impressed by the dedication to heritage seeds and the fantastic way in which they show you how to save your own seed. Something I should try and do more often.Their aim is “to assemble the best collection of really reliable, tasty and interesting non-hybrid vegetables for the home gardener, allotment grower, or smallholder.“. and

“Much of our vegetable growing and weeding is by hand – we have a small tractor for preparing the seedbeds at the start of each season. Two thirds of our land are devoted to wildlife and woodland. Overall , our aim is that at the end of our lives, we will leave the soil and ecosystems in a better condition than at the start.”. 

Can’t recommend them enough. Last year I bought a packet of magic mix cauliflowers from them and they were fantastic. Such an amazing variety. Still got some left for this year. I asked them for some advice upon the variety of cucumbers to grow outside as the dome greenhouse overheats and I am finding it difficult to keep it well ventilated. They recommended the Wautoma Cucumber variety.

I’ve also bought some sweetcorn seeds – double standard bicolour but they are not hybrids.. Though I have plenty of my own seed!. Somehow some of last year’s sweetcorn kernels escaped being picked. They’ve dried out nicely inside though some of the kernels cross fertilised with another variety I tried the year before which turned out to be highly coloured vibrant ornamental and wouldn’t cook! So I’m not sure what will happen to them

The seeds in the foreground are mostly golden so may grow into good tasting plants. The others will need to be an experiment. If they germinate that is.. I haven’t got much room for experiments though!

Another year of growing gone

It’s Autumn now. No real ground frost yet which might be a first – it’s only 4 weeks to the winter solstice. I have got nearly all the geraniums in apart from one hanging basket I missed and the dustbin full of geraniums which were mostly leaf and not much flower due to the high level of compost in it..

So what was a success this year? Hmm. Well the brassicas are doing much better than expected. I bought a packet of cauliflower mix seeds from Real Seeds ‘Magic mix of cauliflowers’ They really were magic and exciting to see what emerged from the head of leaves within. I’ve still got half a packet left so will try again next year. The best cauliflower heads started off like Romanesque then spread out like a huge head of broccoli with many individual florets.

Cobra climbing french beans were also very long, plentiful and cropped over several weeks. I did have trouble with slugs attacking them though, necessitating nightly trips out with a torch and a small bucket.

Beetroot flourished again with few pests after them, helped by a reasonably wet summer.

Broad beans started well but then got blackfly and by the time I’d persuaded them to leave, broad bean rust set in. Lettuce did okay but again demanding slug checks.

Neighbour Mitch gave me a few squash/courgette plants and they loved growing against the stone wall. The trombonicus sprouted huge long trombones which hung audaciously over towards the road.

Andy planted sweetcorn directly into the ground since I’d not got round to sowing them this year. They did well but half were the old ornamental seed from last year which cross pollinated with the edible ones…

The strawberries were okay but could have been better..the raspberries cropped heavily again which have been turned into jam. We had what began to be a good crop of potatoes but by the time they were harvested, the worms and slugs had invaded most of them. I like the red Desiree variety.

Meanwhile in the greenhouse…the tomatoes started off well but then suffered in the heat, intermittent human induced drought and lack of feeding. For one week I was watering a friend’s garden down the road. I was shocked at how prolific her crop was! Then I saw all the bottles of tomato feed stacked up. Well I am not doing that so me and next door are researching on making a more nourishing fertiliser ourselves for next year. Must look up nettle feed..already started composting banana skins, egg shells and wood ash. We also have a good supply of what we call guano from the barn where cattle were once housed decades ago (well rotted then!) but it’s very dry and needs soaking for days. Perhaps the liquid from that will make a nitrogen rich feed as well.

Cucumbers started well, then heat stress. I’ve tried opening up the dome greenhouse more with bottom vents and a new window replaced with holes but still it becomes stifling in there.

More bulb planting

Started work on the pond surrounding area yesterday. That pond could look so nice if only I kept on top of all the wild things that keep taking over. Extracted huge triffid like brambles that snake and grasp at plants and earth at great seed, planting defiant root systems at their tips as they go. Tried to extract a huge fern right at the pond edge. That will grow back. The planted groups of 5 or 6 dwarf narcissus bulbs in between the boulders. If I can keep the winter heliotrope and ground alder trying to prevent them growing in the spring. Underneath the azaleas I came across a white blob buried in the earth. It had an egg membrane like skin on it then as this punctured there was a gelatinous blob inside. What was that?! It seems it was a stinkhorn egg or ‘witches mushroom’

I need to have a better plan for that pond.

November update

Long time no write. I must keep a record of what I do as I keep forgetting the small details of what went in where!

Bought a load of bulbs from Wilkos – half price at the moment as I suppose it’s nearly the end of the planting season but it’s been so mild, difficult to compute that.

Today, for the record, I looked at the western border below the newly transplanted mombretia and weeded some roots of oregano and ground elder out. I’m wondering if the mombretia once they get going won’t trample all over any bulbs I plant so maybe stick to daffodils there? Outside the western kitchen window I planted 15 dwarf crocuses – there were a few other bulbs lurking in the soil below..I wonder what they are? ! Then outside the northern kitchen window I planted 15 giant crocuses so they can lighten up the mornings in early spring.

Contemplating the box of remaining assorted bulbs, spotted garlic I’d ordered. Better get that in. Each year I try and try to grow garlic successfully but failure in some way has followed failure. I’ve tried different sites, adding chicken manure compost, planting them in a tub but all succumb to rust or failure to grow fat garlic heads. This time I’ve sown two rows in the new raised bed, over a layer of compost. the western most row is the bought bulbs, satvium casablanca. The eastern row is a bulb head that started sprouting in the kitchen. Probably some warm climate preferring Spanish variety that won’t like cooler winters. We’ll see

Slugmania

It’s that time of the year. Delicate quivering seedlings in a bid for survival. First lack of rain. Then rain. Then the slug army moves in. Go out at night with a torch and the soil is a squirming frenzy of tiny black slugs, crawling over the once emerging cauliflower plant leaves, reducing them to desolate stalks.

I start to pick them off, their slime coating my fingers with a glue like substance. I smear them on the pavement stones and squish them with a wellington boot. I tried plastic bottles cut in half as protectors. They laughed with glee when they saw them. A perfect medium to slime up and gain a quick route to their goal, my once healthy cauliflower plants.

Beer pots. I resorted to yeasty pots of beer in a bid to catch them. There must be hundreds of them, crawling out of the stone wall. Perhaps one of the problems is the ground is bare and there are no other plants to feed off. They seem to have regarded the peas with disdain.

The pot of basil outside the back door is a must have for slugs. Long brown ones slip and slide joyously towards the pungent aroma. At least I can see them coming. Then the tender and cautiously emerging dahlia shoots! I discovered their mangled stumps today. Oh how I am losing this war. Slugs are an important part of the ecosystem but how can we live together amicably?

Get sowing

Time is short and time is marching on. I’m keen to turn more of the veg plot over to no dig but it looks like someone has dug it all over already! Tricky I suppose as there is a big bindweed infestation problem. Perhaps next year eh?

In the olden days the seed packets ordered you to ‘rake the soil to a fine tilth’. So rake to get the bigger dry lumps off then search for last year’s two sticks with bailer twine attached between for a line..use that to attempt a straightish line, find the small diddly hoe to carve a channel and search for packets of seeds.

Carrots first. Ah those elusive carrots that I sow each year and rarely come to edible veg. I’ve got the seeds – packets of them as I have been subscribing to Grow Your Own Magazine for the past few years. Each month about 6 packets of seeds accompany the magazine. The seeds can get repetitive but sometimes there are new varieties which are fun to try. It is with these that I sourced beetroot, carrot and parsnips. I did try Alys Fowler’s advice and water the channel and seeds. We’ve had little rain for the last few weeks. It always happens. No sooner than I sow seeds, a drought follows and I’m left wondering if the seed germination fails because of lack of water or slugs getting there first. Though slugs tend to dislike dry conditions…

The seed planted rows look damp. Good. I think the cat thought I made her another toilet. Bad.