The way the slugs and snails area attacking everything this year I decided that six butternut squash in one bed was a good idea as perhaps one in six will survive. A layer of slug pellets were used under the membrane and those slugs that were discovered when the blank sheets were lifted were dispatched to sluggy heaven. My excess butternut squash plants were donated to two other plot holders.
A number of us turned up with additional plants that were offered to other plot holders so now I have a Pumpkin in the back of the bed that I have put the Piccolo Di Parigi in along the width of the bed. These green pickler cucumbers or Gherkins grow to about 75 - 100 mm long and are supposed to be one of the first cucumbers to produce fruit and produces over a long season.
From what I have read about them they are supposed to taste nice if used fresh or for pickles. I tried growing last year and had no success, this year I got six nice healthy looking plants. They don't look well in this photo but there again Cucumbers resent root disturbance and have to be transplanted carefully, but I'm sure if not attacked by slugs and snails they will soon buck up and look healthy as they did when I took them from the greenhouse.
The trellis is a little short and I will extend it as they grow. I'm going to make some better frames up next year rather than using the old dog cage and fire guard that I have been using.
I've had these seed over from a seed parcel and tried all the the seeds I had left to see if they would germinate and they all did!.
This exotic fruit is from the family of melons and cucumbers, it has an oval form and hard, orange skin and little horns. Inside it's jelly like with lots of edible seeds and very sweet taste similar to a mix of banana, melon and cucumber. The fruits store for several weeks.
I moved the potatoes in buckets and the troughs with tulips in down to plot 1 so I have three beds worth of potatoes in buckets. I was surprised just how wilted some of them looked bearing in mind the amount of rain we have had. They the trees and all the other beds had a good watering,
The sweetcorn have been battered and munched a little and again a sprinkle of slug pellets have been added. I had one spare which went in to replace one that was dead and two other holes have been filled with marrow plants which I'm quite happy for to wonder around the sweetcorn and across the paths between the beds, again if the snails and slugs don't get them. I gave two more marrow plants away to other plot holders.
The beetroot bed is really disappointing there are very few beetroots that have germinated or that the slugs and snails have not eaten. I have sown a load in the two Agralan Propagators and hoping for some plug plants soon, but I think a re sowing in situ once I have received the pack of Nemaslug to trial from BASF is in order, I still have time and I did so well with beetroots last year that a have a huge stock of pickled beetroots under the stairs in storage.
Finally after last years two plums that appeared and there were lost when something had them away, I have a large number of plums this year, some within the middle of the tree are still green but its a sight to behold.
This tree needs training as it got away from me last year but that's a project for when the sap isn't rising and I can minimise its growth and train it more along the path.
Two sacks of grass from my sister along with shredded paper, and kitchen & dead flowers were placed in the two active Daleks who always seem to know just how much composting down they need to do between being topped up again were filled to the lids again.
Wasps are making a nest in the bottom of the greenhouse that is full of crap, and I need to attack the trees that are now resting on my shed on plot 1A thanks to the builders next door and their attack on the trees. I have so much infrastructure works to get on with that I'm glad that nearly all the available beds I have are now full so that I can concentrate on getting everything sorted and ready for next year.
"This tree needs training as it got away from me last year..."
ReplyDeleteIf a tree managed to get away from you, it's obviously not the only one in need of some training....!
It's better time management and less downtime due to family illness that was needed. ;0) All the fruit went on a week and none on the floor so I'm suspecting humans not animals have been at them.
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