The gardening thread

[Elpenor]

My magnolia was being shredded by slugs so I've been out just before I go to bed and picked the little fuckers off and now have four beer traps around it to divert them. None on there the last two nights

What do you do with the slugs that have been in the beer the next morning?

I’ve put some beer traps tonight and poked my head out after the football and saw lots of slugs in the beer. Will deal with the soused slugs tomorrow morning but not sure what to do with their corpses?!

 

[two sheds]

compost heap

 

[Elpenor]

compost heap

In the absence of a compost heap I’ll improvise

 

[two sheds]

I'm presuming something in the garden will be tempted by soused and pickled slug

I was surprised - I've used a couple of old beer brewing cans and the fuckers were crawling up the side to dive into it

 

[Elpenor]

I'm presuming something in the garden will be tempted by soused and pickled slug

I was surprised - I've used a couple of old beer brewing cans and the fuckers were crawling up the side to dive into it

I reckon the pigeons will enjoy a beer cured slug for their breakfast

I bought some 2% bitter from Tesco - 4 cans for £1.50, one can a night around the plant they’ve been enjoying. Oddly I don’t get much evidence of slugs in the back garden

 

[two sheds]

Mine's my previous homebrew which I accidentally made double strength and it didn't quite work out, I can understand why slugs were drawn to it though.



eta: because of the strength not the taste

 

[Elpenor]

Slugs seem to no longer be in the traps

Not sure if they’re sleeping off a hangover somewhere or if the pigeon that’s been prancing around on the lawn has had them for second breakfast. Anyway they seemed to work so will try a few more tonight

 

[Elpenor]

Slugs seem to no longer be in the traps

Not sure if they’re sleeping off a hangover somewhere or if the pigeon that’s been prancing around on the lawn has had them for second breakfast. Anyway they seemed to work so will try a few more tonight

Tried the traps somewhere else last night and found dead slugs in the beer this morning so they seem to be working

I’ve moved the corpses onto the shingle bed next to the beer traps where hopefully a pigeon will dispose of them

 

[The39thStep]

Tried the traps somewhere else last night and found dead slugs in the beer this morning so they seem to be working

I’ve moved the corpses onto the shingle bed next to the beer traps where hopefully a pigeon will dispose of them

After I finishing juicing I put the orange halves down as slug traps in the spring here.

 

[RubyToogood]

I used nematodes a few months ago and there are really very few slugs around still. The snails are making up for it though.

 

[RubyToogood]

What I'm supposed to be doing this afternoon is trying to get to the back of the corner of doom behind the apple tree, which is full of pernicious weeds.

What I'm actually doing is moving the compost bins to somewhere a bit easier to get to with a bag of veg peelings. Hopefully this will also free up a good rhubarb growing area. And clearing out the remains of the broad beans. Anything but deal with the corner of doom...

 

[TopCat]

This truly is the year of the slug.

Chomping through my vegetables like it’s a slug feast.

Some stuff they don’t like is enjoying the sunshine and warmth. Cucumbers, tomatoes, courgettes.

 

[newme]

This truly is the year of the slug.

Chomping through my vegetables like it’s a slug feast.

Some stuff they don’t like is enjoying the sunshine and warmth. Cucumbers, tomatoes, courgettes.

I seem to be the only gardener in the country to not suffer with slugs it seems but I make up for it with incompetence. I found precisely one snail all year so far.
Tomatoes, beans and peas are a disaster tho, massive plants, no veg/fruit. Got more off a single strawberry plant lol.

 

[Idaho]

This truly is the year of the slug.

Chomping through my vegetables like it’s a slug feast.

Some stuff they don’t like is enjoying the sunshine and warmth. Cucumbers, tomatoes, courgettes.

Yeah they have been relentless this year. I have generally kept them at bay, although early on they did all my carrot seedlings.

 

[TopCat]

Whole rows of plant’s disappearing over night. Bah.

 

[newme]

Wow thats got to be annoying, I do have absolutely everything covered in poly (which probably explains some of my bad experiments with planting) I just don't trust the dog to not think its a large litter tray and he has full run of the place.

 

[TopCat]

Thankfully some stuff is surviving black fly and ants and slugs.

I even felt for the first cabbage white butterflies that have been floating about the last few days. All my brassicas are done.

 

[orient slacker]

There’s a similar dearth of insects down in Pembs this year. Good news for the veg plot maybe, but the birds are making up for them in scoffing fruits and leaves.

I’ve even had a bunch of rooks come and take every eating apple off the couple of trees I’ve got. I’m used to birds taking windfalls but never known them swipe them off the tree before.

 

[newme]

There’s a similar dearth of insects down in Pembs this year. Good news for the veg plot maybe, but the birds are making up for them in scoffing fruits and leaves.

I’ve even had a bunch of rooks come and take every eating apple off the couple of trees I’ve got. I’m used to birds taking windfalls but never known them swipe them off the tree before.

Yeh we have 120ft of trees down the edge of the property and lots of birds which probably helps a lot. Also there maybe hedgehogs based on finding two burrows and one stuck in a football net that needed destroying to release it. Also a fair few squirrels. Nothing seems to touch the apple tree tho even when it drops and we have agricultural land next door so I know they are everywhere. Makes a moderately ok cider but I am using it for compost this time. Too much space with all the buckets this year.

 

[Idaho]

Thankfully some stuff is surviving black fly and ants and slugs.

I even felt for the first cabbage white butterflies that have been floating about the last few days. All my brassicas are done.

Some year's are harsh. You are just grateful you don't do it for survival. Sigh, take stock, count the positives and await the next season with (even) more lessons learnt.

 

[RubyToogood]

Plenty of insects in South London.

Bit of a failure to thrive situation with my squashes though. Just not enough sun I think. My fennel is all bolting too.

 

[two sheds]

I treated a fairly large area of the garden with nematodes this spring but I think they've since joined in from different parts of the garden . I did read that the fuckers lay eggs in September/October though so I may lay down some more nematodes at the end of August.

 

[newme]

My red clover patch has finally flowered. Stuck it right by all the beds for more bees.

 

[Elpenor]

It’s quite pleasing that a little bit of effort on the lawns has helped the grass get thicker and look better (greener). It’s certainly noticeable where I didn’t put the effort in as it still looks tired and weedy.

Still a couple of bareish patches where I will reseed, probably in early September. Also some bare parts of lawn where I’ve filled in dips with excess soil. These will need reseeding too, as the grass isn’t really growing through. No rush though, I’ll see how it’s doing in a few months

Edit a few poorly taken photos

 

[TopCat]

My cucumber plants are loving this heat.

 

[newme]

It’s quite pleasing that a little bit of effort on the lawns has helped the grass get thicker and look better (greener). It’s certainly noticeable where I didn’t put the effort in as it still looks tired and weedy.

Still a couple of bareish patches where I will reseed, probably in early September. Also some bare parts of lawn where I’ve filled in dips with excess soil. These will need reseeding too, as the grass isn’t really growing through. No rush though, I’ll see how it’s doing in a few months

Yeh mines gone all over through moving things about, clearing the dandelion gradually tho and adding like 50% clover everywhere. Micro and white seems to work great as its below the mower level when on high as still get flowers. Also way more resistant to low light or water it seems.

 

[RubyToogood]

I managed to get into the corner of doom! It wasn't that bad once I'd started.

It's tricky to know what to do with it as it's right under the apple tree so pretty shady. I might put a storage bench there. Or perhaps that's where the wildlife pond should go (yes I know they're supposed to be in sun but the few sunny bits have important plants in).

 

[Elpenor]

Topped up the slug traps last night. Removed 15 beer addled slugs this morning. Hopefully they will make a nice breakfast for the birds

Used an old serving spoon I seem to recall liberating from a curry restaurant about 15 years ago to get the slugs out of the beer. Seemed to do the job

 

[BoatieBird]

We have a mole in the garden.
Is this necessarily a bad thing?
I'm not particularly precious about the lawn, so I don't mind the odd molehill appearing there, not sure what damage they might wreak on the flowerbeds though

 

[og ogilby]

Anyone here grown brugmansia?

I'm excited about my plant I bought a couple of months ago. I didn't have a clue what I was buying, I only bought it to support the person selling them.

Just looked this morning and it looks like I'm about to see my first flower?