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Saturday, July 16, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Lunch
From the garden:
* Baby candy-stripe beets
* Snow peas
* Radishes
* Endive and baby beet greens
Plus yogurt/chicken/onion/cucumber salad
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Mid-summer progress report
Our garden is providing us with food.
The beans are climbing.
The potatoes look incredible - I'm guessing we should be able to harvest small ones soon?
The broccoli heads are small, but yummy.
We've done succession plantings of most things: carrots, broccoli raab, pac choi, spinach, turnips, beets, radishes, parsnips, endive. Some from starts, some from seeds. We discovered that our long rows (the 30 ft length of the plot) were hard to manage, so we planted some of the new ones across the plot, from the edge to the path. We planted some of the more tender greens at home on our porch in pots, where we can hopefully keep a closer eye on them and have a better chance of keeping the slugs at bay. The snow peas and snap peas are still producing and have been excellent and pest-free. Leeks and parsnips have yet to be harvested, but turnips, beets and carrots have been sampled.
The beans are climbing.
The potatoes look incredible - I'm guessing we should be able to harvest small ones soon?
The broccoli heads are small, but yummy.
We've done succession plantings of most things: carrots, broccoli raab, pac choi, spinach, turnips, beets, radishes, parsnips, endive. Some from starts, some from seeds. We discovered that our long rows (the 30 ft length of the plot) were hard to manage, so we planted some of the new ones across the plot, from the edge to the path. We planted some of the more tender greens at home on our porch in pots, where we can hopefully keep a closer eye on them and have a better chance of keeping the slugs at bay. The snow peas and snap peas are still producing and have been excellent and pest-free. Leeks and parsnips have yet to be harvested, but turnips, beets and carrots have been sampled.
Enemy #1
"Slug damage is greatest in cool, moist weather or when young plants are small and tender." Think maybe they could be a problem for us?
Slugs have a job, and that job is to help in the composting cycle. In addition to eating our tender greens - they especially love our pac choi and spinach - they eat dead leaves, fungus and decaying vegetable material. Slugs are an important part of the ecosystem, and we are all about supporting the ecosystem. Nevertheless, I have come to HATE slugs and THIS IS WAR.
Suddenly, our Plot's location next to the well-managed and very active community compost pile seems less than ideal. They are sliming their way across the 18 or so inches between the compost pile and Plot #14. Why should they eat that dead, decaying stuff when they can feast on the lovely and delicious smorgasbord in our garden? I read that each slug has both male and female reproductive organs, meaning that all mature slugs can lay eggs, up to 400 per year. Eggs are laid in small groups of 3 or 4, or as many as 30 or 40. Eggs are round or oval, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter and colorless to milky white. They can begin to damage plants immediately upon hatching. Eeeeek.
We've used a lot of Sluggo, but are not sure how much it is slowing them down. Sluggo is a fairly non-toxic bait based on iron phosphate. It keeps slugs from feeding and they begin to die within a few days. We also tried beer, which supposedly attracts and then drowns them, with limited success. Diatomaceous earth seems to work, but only as long as it is dry. Next, we are going to surround the Plot with strips of copper. I'll let you know how it goes.
Slugs have a job, and that job is to help in the composting cycle. In addition to eating our tender greens - they especially love our pac choi and spinach - they eat dead leaves, fungus and decaying vegetable material. Slugs are an important part of the ecosystem, and we are all about supporting the ecosystem. Nevertheless, I have come to HATE slugs and THIS IS WAR.
Suddenly, our Plot's location next to the well-managed and very active community compost pile seems less than ideal. They are sliming their way across the 18 or so inches between the compost pile and Plot #14. Why should they eat that dead, decaying stuff when they can feast on the lovely and delicious smorgasbord in our garden? I read that each slug has both male and female reproductive organs, meaning that all mature slugs can lay eggs, up to 400 per year. Eggs are laid in small groups of 3 or 4, or as many as 30 or 40. Eggs are round or oval, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter and colorless to milky white. They can begin to damage plants immediately upon hatching. Eeeeek.
We've used a lot of Sluggo, but are not sure how much it is slowing them down. Sluggo is a fairly non-toxic bait based on iron phosphate. It keeps slugs from feeding and they begin to die within a few days. We also tried beer, which supposedly attracts and then drowns them, with limited success. Diatomaceous earth seems to work, but only as long as it is dry. Next, we are going to surround the Plot with strips of copper. I'll let you know how it goes.
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