Did you all enjoy your Labor Day Weekend? I know I did. We had a wonderful picnic on Monday, complete with hot dogs, sausage, baked beans, and (my specialty) grilled potato skins. I even got to use a fresh-picked tomato! Tuesday I made Pesto Chicken for dinner. It turned out really well, as did my experiment of putting some pesto on tomato slices and broiling them.
I have good news, and no, I didn't save a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico(R). The slugs seem to have vanished from my garden! I'm not sure what persuaded them to leave, but I don't really care, as long as their gone.
My tomatoes have finally started to ripen. The Mrs. Benson tomatoes are very large, weighing between 8 and 15 ounces each. So far I have not gotten any Brandywine tomatoes; the ones that ripened got blossom end rot. I'm somewhat surprised since Brandwines are supposed to be very easy to grow, and not prone to disease. I guess end rot is exempt since it's not a disease, but a calcium deficiency in the fruit. If I can get to the garden center some time soon, I will try to find a calcium spray for the leaves, so more calcium can get to the tomatoes. In the meantime, I've been trimming the plants of unnecessary leaves and runners in an effort to keep the leaves from absorbing all the calcium. I'm also fertilizing and watering the plants more often.
Due to the cooler weather most of the flowers have slowed their seed production, but I'm still getting seeds from Calendula, Cosmos, Anise Hyssop, and Salvia plants. On the To-Do List this fall is revamping my flower garden, and finishing the new bed around the mailbox. The bed around the mailbox will be getting Lavender and Rose Campion. I'm not sure what else is planned for it. For my flower bed, we are going to put in a mix of peat moss, top soil, compost, and sand. We're also going to reshape the border to make it look more like a circle than a wavy line.
Farewell For Now~
Sarah
Showing posts with label slugs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label slugs. Show all posts
8.23.2007
Vegetable Garden Becomes Slug Buffet
Tuesday was unseasonably cool, and when I was out gathering some Basil for dinner, I found slugs all over it, and the peppers. So, having solved the mystery of what was eating my plants, I started researching how to get rid of the slimy little things.
Ortho's Bug-Geta was recommended in several places, and since we had some on hand I'm trying that. Also on the list of things to try: coffee grounds, salt, cleaning up any debris on the soil, trimming any leaves that are on the ground. And if all that doesn't help I'll find something else to try.
Yesterday I put out the Bug-Geta and applied Sevin as I read that it can also help deter slugs (and whatever else might want to munch on my peppers).
This morning was hot, humid and sticky, just the sort of weather slugs enjoy. So I took a metal can from the recycling bin, put some salt in the bottom, and started picking slugs. Ugh. I went out again this evening and found some more. In case you're wondering why the salt, slugs are mostly made of water and the salt dehydrates and kills them.
I finally got around to making my pesto - it was delicious, but time consuming to make. It would help if we owned a food processor, but I made do without. I also burned the walnuts the first time I toasted them...anyway, I put it on some chicken, put it under the broiler for a few minutes, and Viola! A meal everyone likes.
My flower bed is surviving, but not thriving. I get a few seeds now and then, but not as many as I'd hoped for. I noticed that the Calendula mix that I gave my Mom is growing much better than my Flashback Calendula. Probably due to a slightly shadier location.
The Pennyroyal is still alive, and seems to be adjusting well. It rained today, so maybe the ground will be soft enough to dig a hole for the Horehound - it's still pretty droopy.
I finally got all my pictures organized, so now I can start going through and decide which ones look good enough to put on the internet. Which reminds me, it's about time for another photo shoot of the gardens...which means I'll probably have another hundred or so pictures to sort through and label by the end of the week.
It seems I won't be running out of things to do for a good long while...maybe I'll get caught up on everything in time to start planning next years garden.
Keeping Busy~
Sarah
Ortho's Bug-Geta was recommended in several places, and since we had some on hand I'm trying that. Also on the list of things to try: coffee grounds, salt, cleaning up any debris on the soil, trimming any leaves that are on the ground. And if all that doesn't help I'll find something else to try.
Yesterday I put out the Bug-Geta and applied Sevin as I read that it can also help deter slugs (and whatever else might want to munch on my peppers).
This morning was hot, humid and sticky, just the sort of weather slugs enjoy. So I took a metal can from the recycling bin, put some salt in the bottom, and started picking slugs. Ugh. I went out again this evening and found some more. In case you're wondering why the salt, slugs are mostly made of water and the salt dehydrates and kills them.
I finally got around to making my pesto - it was delicious, but time consuming to make. It would help if we owned a food processor, but I made do without. I also burned the walnuts the first time I toasted them...anyway, I put it on some chicken, put it under the broiler for a few minutes, and Viola! A meal everyone likes.
My flower bed is surviving, but not thriving. I get a few seeds now and then, but not as many as I'd hoped for. I noticed that the Calendula mix that I gave my Mom is growing much better than my Flashback Calendula. Probably due to a slightly shadier location.
The Pennyroyal is still alive, and seems to be adjusting well. It rained today, so maybe the ground will be soft enough to dig a hole for the Horehound - it's still pretty droopy.
I finally got all my pictures organized, so now I can start going through and decide which ones look good enough to put on the internet. Which reminds me, it's about time for another photo shoot of the gardens...which means I'll probably have another hundred or so pictures to sort through and label by the end of the week.
It seems I won't be running out of things to do for a good long while...maybe I'll get caught up on everything in time to start planning next years garden.
Keeping Busy~
Sarah
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