Slug Party

So when I visited the plot this evening I found that our newly planted courgettes were hosting a slug party.

I think we need some more courgette plants. (And less slugs)

Trouble with Beans and Sweet Potatoes

It's a bit of a mixed bag down the plot at the moment. Some things are going great but others are not doing so well.

The Soya Beans I planted a few weeks back have completely failed to materialise. I planted 32 beans and not one of them germinated. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Instead I'm left with a weed filled square of nothingness.

Guess I'm going to have to put something else in there.

Meanwhile, there appears to be slugs in the greenhouse because they haven't half munched their way through some of the small seedlings. My Rockets has gone, the basil has been attacked, and the Courgettes are looking sorry for themselves.

Outside the Sweet Potatoes have failed dismally.

However, the backups in the greenhouse have been going great. (In the middle of some of the better courgettes and sweet peas.)

The strawberries inside are in full flourish (when the slugs don't get at them).

But the ones outside are just coming into flower.

I've snipped the tops out of the Chard to stop it running to seed and growing so tall.

And even the Onions are doing well.

Next door, the Beetroot has now been planted out.

Two new beds are now Borlotti Beans, and a herb mixture (Thyme, Sage, Rosemary and Basil) in amongst the rogue potato.

Spuds in the Spud bags are also a bit hit and miss. Some have worked, some haven't. Not sure what is going on with the plot this year. All very strange.

Scene of utter devastation.

Last year the courgettes were brilliant. I had an over abundance of them at times and ended up giving a lot away. This year I think I'll be lucky to get a handful. Despite having a similar number of plants, it seems that they are being targeted by that gardeners nemesis, slugs.

What were nice thriving plants with three of four good sized leaves are being munched down to, in some cases, a single leaf, and in a couple of cases, no leaves.

Now I am loathe to use slug pellets. After all what is the point of growing your own if you still end up with all those poisons entering your body. May as well go to the supermarket and buy commercial stuff.


So I've been trying a few things out to deter those slimy pests. Egg shells? Do not work. Copper? Nada. Beertraps? Kind of work a bit. Foxes? Sort of works.

But the problem is that there are just too many of the damn things. I've taken to stamping on the buggers to try and get their guts to fly off across the plot. Maybe it's a new sport? Slug Gut Shooting? But it only works with the big ones. The smaller ones I just chop in two.

Vicious? Yes I am. But it's war out there. And I intend to win dammit.