Slug control

 

This is the foundation for our best attempt at elimating slugs - we are trying to increase the number of frogs in our garden.

We collected some frog spawn earlier in the year, and made a temporary pond with a tyre, and some black plastic. This plastic will break down in sunlight, so we eventually need to make a nother bigger pond, and line it with pond liner. But the principle is good, and the water is clear, the plants and the tadpoles are thriving.
Our next pond will be made of a bigger type, and some pond liner, and eventually we may make a pond that is dug into the ground - maybe as we run out of topsoil for the raised beds :-)

A little progress

Weather has been un-April like for the past few weeks - overcast, and bitterly cold, with strong northerly winds. Some of the seedlings I put out have survived, but some tender lettuces have been badly wind burned, and the potatoes I started inside mid march have been wind burned too.

Today I braved the elements, only to find that it wasn't too cold. We have had a biofire installed (more on that later) and the installer has lots of chimney pipe left over. So I'm trying out the chimney pipes for growing carrots - my raised bed has the look of a steam ship - I'm hoping that the dark metal will warm the compost inside, and get the carrots going better - and that the height will keep them above carrot flies.

Also planted a few early turnips, and some beets. And transplanted some peas which have been happily growing in a chip for the past month.

One advantage of the cold weather has been an absence of snails - so far nothing seems to have been completely eaten. Don't know if the lettuce I planted will survive being out, though - I'd like it to be a bit bigger just to hold it's own.

Fingers crossed todays effort won't have been a complete waste of time, and that the growth rates will pick up soon. Before the slugs pick up....