The Gardening Bed

[Wandering Willy]

Didn't you get any complaints about the taste?

[thebish]

Didn't you get any complaints about the taste?

it's not the sack they are generally interested in - but the huge tuber...

[The Axman]

The slugs that eat holes in your tubers are a completely different type of slug to the slugs that crawl around topside. The tuber chewers are keeled slugs. Keeled slugs prefer loamy type soil so you can always add a bit a sharp sand around your seed pots to discourage them or alternatively plant anything other than Maris Piper - they're dead keen on Maris varieties but not so keen on King Teds etc (apparently).

[But I now know why they're slimy - if the little bleeders been sucking on Bish's huge tuber they need to wash themselves afterwards]

[Gooner Girl]

Get some chickens - then problem solved - they'll eat all the slugs (and your lettuces... )

[The Axman]

Get some chickens - then problem solved - they'll eat all the slugs (and your lettuces... )

Yeh but... if you get chickens then you lose not only the slugs but all the grass too. Plus they peck the slowworms. Plus the extra grain you have to put out to keep the greedy partially evolved dinos from starving attracts rats from all parts of the Kingdom. Chickens plus gardening equals caveats.

[Gooner Girl]

Get some chickens - then problem solved - they'll eat all the slugs (and your lettuces... )

Yeh but... if you get chickens then you lose not only the slugs but all the grass too. Plus they peck the slowworms. Plus the extra grain you have to put out to keep the greedy partially evolved dinos from starving attracts rats from all parts of the Kingdom. Chickens plus gardening equals caveats.

Good job i'm not garden proud then, my chickens and ducks live in 2/3rd of our back garden. I grow my pots and veg in the other third. Last year i had lettuce, potatos, TONS of raspberries, apples, cherries, rhubarb and a few other bits and bobs - flowers i always kill though!

[The Axman]

I hate to point this out GG but you appear to be Farming rather than Gardening.

[Gooner Girl]

I hate to point this out GG but you appear to be Farming rather than Gardening.

Farming is WAY better then gardening! Still trying to persuade Mr GG to let me have a cow though. He's such a spoilsport.

[The Axman]

Hmmm. Whereas I think the ultimate goal of my gardening is to create a bit of the Costa Rican Rainforest (but accessible). So I'm not aiming for cows, but parrots and leopards. Meanwhile I'm cultivating my thriving population of slowworms: saw one yesterday, sunning itself, that was a good 15cm in circumference.
Also thought of getting a couple of Alpacas to clear out the brambles, but apparently goats are better (but so much more mundane). Hey-ho.

[Gooner Girl]

Oh i'd like a few goats too (but thats not allowed either apparently. Humph.)

[The Axman]

I'll lend you mine when they've cleared the brambles. (Actually I've borrowed them from a farm myself). (And they keep on escaping. Found one in the bathroom yesterday eating the soap).

[Bruce Rioja]

One of my friends is dyslexic.

He once went to a Toga party dressed as a goat

In other news - Our Kid's chicks should've hatched yesterday. They haven't

[The Axman]

One of my friends is dyslexic.

He once went to a Toga party dressed as a goat

There isn't a groaaaaan smilie, so this'll have to do:

[thebish]

Get some chickens - then problem solved - they'll eat all the slugs (and your lettuces... )

my chickens never ate the slugs in my garden....

[Bruce Rioja]

Get some chickens - then problem solved - they'll eat all the slugs (and your lettuces... )

my chickens never ate the slugs in my garden....

That'll be because they taste of WD-40

[Wandering Willy]

Get some chickens - then problem solved - they'll eat all the slugs (and your lettuces... )

my chickens never ate the slugs in my garden....

Don't let them. You don't want a chicken choking in your garden.

[thebish]

Get some chickens - then problem solved - they'll eat all the slugs (and your lettuces... )

my chickens never ate the slugs in my garden....

That'll be because they taste of WD-40

ahhh - good point!!

[Bruce Rioja]

Our Kid's chooks still haven't hatched. It's not looking good

[Dujon]

Slugs and snails and puppy dog tails. Leave it to the ladies, chaps.

My wife tells me that a sawdust barrier is reasonably effective when protecting plants as the slugs and snails are not enamoured of 'sliding' over the texture thus presented. It is certainly not 100% efficient as a deterrent but it is much better than nothing. The negative side of the exercise is that the sawdust needs to be replaced often and some wood dust is not recommended as it damages the soil. Don't ask me which timber to avoid as I don't know.

Bruce, you didn't have the children boil the googs before placing them in the incubator did you?

[Bruce Rioja]

In my front garden the holly bush is laden with berries and the heather has flowered. It's early March. Is this right?