Slugs and Snails

We probably spent the best part of an hour last night in the pouring rain removing around 100 slugs, snails and other varieties of slime from our precious plants. The death bucket was brimming with water after several days of constant downpour and the slugs were escaping!
We have lost several broad bean leaves, about 20 Marigolds, a handful of sunflowers, all the carrots and a number of parsnips to these buggers so we are now going to get slug pellets. I have even found a small amount of slug damage on my tomatoes at home in my mini greenhouse!
Not amused.

Not entirely organic, not what we planned but we're angry gardeners....and that's quite scary!

Day Nineteen

We have runner bean frames now! Woo-Hoo! I'm sure we'll have to stick nets over these fellas soonish but it's looking sturdy and promising. Karl has a good feeling about the beans so fingers crossed!
Karl has made a lovely sitting area from all the woodchips we collected the other week. It's amongst the potatoes so it's in quite a nice area next to the greenhouse.
Strawberries are flowering so we are looking for some straw now to protect the fruits from slugs.
New hoe and rake generously given to me by grandad is much appreciated as they are superb for breaking up soil - rake is quite a scary looking tool but it works a treat! :)
We've planted 4 of my tomato plants in the soil in the greenhouse floor (it's an experiment!!) and I planted the large Rosemary (from dad) in the herb section of the allotment. We've got some mint as well but we haven't found anywhere for it yet.
The mini greenhouse that I've got at home is absolutely brimming with greenery so I think this will need to be emptied into the allotment at some point. Tomatoes are growing like mad and the courgettes are trying to escape!

Runner bean frames

Another view of the greenery

Scary rake

Sitting area

Strawberries in flower

Potatoes growing up! (3 tyres high)

Day Seventeen & Eighteen

I'm ill. But I'm still digging!!

Got the worst of a cold this week which isn't any fun but I still managed to get some work done at A21. (Most of it down to Karl tho as he's put in 500% more work than me!)

• Everything has been watered - twice. Plus it rained.
• We've taken about 7 wheelbarrow loads of wood chips from the top of the hill to the plot. It was FREE!
• Dug the trenches for the runner beans. (put decomposed composting material and newspaper in trenches to keep soil very moist and full of rotting nutrients)
  
• Karl planted sunflowers, red onions plus some other flowers. (sorry - can't remember name!) Plus some Pink banana Squash?!
  
• Trimmed the rhubarb. (Going to make crumble I think?!)
  
• Made some more space for potato growing. (half finished)
  
• Moved the broad beans further into the frame as the birds are pecking at the sides by the netting!
• Kindly received 4 courgette plants from A23. Currently in my mini greenhouse.
• Had more mulch dumped at the front of plot for weed control.
• Had wellie compliments from neighbour. :)

Back at home I've moved half the tomatoes into the mini greenhouse into grow bags and put the other half in the kitchen.

Phew!

Day Sixteen

Only a small trip this weekend to the allotment to dig the patch for runner beans and to plant my broccoli seedlings. Karl has been pretty thorough with the digging recently and I have continued digging the plot today as well - seems to go on forever!
I planted my broccoli seedlings out under plastic bottles in the patch where the spinach and asparagus were laid and pulled out a few slugs which were hiding under the rhubarb. Speaking of the rhubarb - it definately needs a good trimming! It's got flowers shooting up on huge stems and it's quite imposing on the patch it's sitting on. Looks like we'll be giving it a trim this week?
Karl has also planted his broccoli out but it's looking a little wind damaged. We're keeping fingers crossed tho.
On a sad note - all the marigolds we planted the other week have been eaten!! They were all gone when I looked at the parsnip patch and it looks like slugs took a liking to them. Luckily I have some seedlings on the go in my new mini greenhouse at home!
On the good side - the potatoes are doing really well!

It's all green!

Potatoes growing fast!

Rather large rhubarb!

Broccoli seedlings