Slugs and Rain

26 July 2009

Gardeners would agree that every season has its challenges, but I can’t remember one like this – It has rained almost every day through June and July. Some days only a shower on and off, most days cool, overcast, dismal and wet. Not good for our gardens – too much of a good thing, like water, brings on the slugs, and the rot. The cold temperatures are not friendly for peppers, tomatoes, squash and other warm season annuals. What can be done?

At our garden, we’ve moved as many vegetables into raised beds as possible and in the sunniest part of the property to catch whatever rays are on offer. Raised beds drain quickly and the deep soil encourages the plants to put down deep roots which is a good thing for nutrient uptake. The soil is so well aerated because we’ve added good compost and rotted horse manure, and the plants can grow without drowning in puddles.

The cold night temperatures are stopping the tomatoes from ripening – we need heat! If nothing happens soon, I’m going to have a party and experiment with “fried green tomatoes” and show the movie too!

Overall, the garden has been mediocre – but we’ve had really great salad vegetables (they don’t really need or like heat) we’ve been harvesting since mid-March from the cold frame (more on cold frames later). We’ve had 3 kinds of lettuce, 2 kinds of spinach, 2 kinds of edible pea pods, Italian dandelion greens, arugula, beets, carrots and radishes. You can eat the tops of those root crops too. Carrot and radish tops are better when they’re young, When older they are a little tough but can be boiled up with other veggies for a vegetable soup stock.

If you are over-run with slugs the way people around here in Connecticut are, there’re a few things you can do:

· set out shallow aluminum pie dishes filled with beer (yes! Beer!), put the

lip of the pan at ground level with the center sunk a bit. The slugs will be attracted to the beer, crawl in and die.

· spend some time picking off the slimy buggers and dropping them into a

pail of water – they drown.

· sprinkle gritty stuff like crushed eggshells, coffee grounds, limestone, cat

litter – or use your imagination – around the plants which are attracting the slugs. Their slimy little bodies can’t take the coarse texture and they will probably not try and cross the barrier.

Despite all these precautions – TRIPLE WASH AND CAREFULLY INSPECT your greens where slugs can easily hide. No-one wants to find a slug in the mouth – or worse, half a slug – while dining.

Happy gardening, more to come.