Vegetable Plants, Table Birds & Birthdays!!!!!!

Wow, it certainly has been a busy couple of weeks, hence the absence of posts from moi!!!

I have had a couple of birthdays, my hubbie to be last week and my youngest who turned 4 today! So we've been galavanting about, doing silly things like paintballing & trampoline building!!!

So just to update you, the garden is coming along, slowly but brilliantly, the grass seed has gone nuts since our rain fall and the turf is looking lush and green, can really start to picture my gorgeous garden to be! Finally!

Our potatoes, onions, carrots, radish & lettuce are sprouting through and we had our first pickings of spinach tonight (added to a lush curry!!)
Runner beans will be going in within the next couple of weeks once I get my wigwam up. Also have some sweetcorn, peas, broad beans & tomatoe plants to sort. So I gather from that the next (few) weeks or so will be super busy too!

I will have to update my "plan" seeing as the lovely Claire has been uber organised and updated hers, so not to be outdone I will be reposting mine v. soon!!!

The table birds are HUGE!!! It seems we have two rather large cockerals, who are now trying to "cockadoodledo" but it sounds more like foghorn leghorn at the minute! Bless!
The hens are doing well, even after their "attack" from my layers (the meanies actually pecked holes into the chicks during a mass attack!) They have now been seperated!

Had to re-pot the boys sunflowers today, hoping to be able to harden them off soon and get them outside, then the challenge really begins! Who's will survive the weather conditions and/or those pesky slugs??

Wagers being taken, tweet me!!!

Mel
@Tikobear
@honestlyitseasy

Wiggly Wigglers on Slugs!

Had a lovely email this morning from Wiggly Wigglers about Slugs! Some great advice so thought we would share it. Please find links to all of their pages, websites, facebook, blogs and what not at the bottom of the post as well – we think they are great and thoroughly recoomend anyone who is looking into Wormeries to visit them to find out more !!

Feeling a little Sluggish?

We all know the trouble with slugs... They get completely out of control in a jiffy and can destroy your crops overnight... In fact last year those pesky pests ate the first lot of sunflowers we planted for birdseed!
In your garden it really is best to avoid old style blue slug pellets. They use chemicals and if the slugs are then eaten by other birds and animals this can cause problems further down the food chain, apart from which if you want organic veggies of course they are a No No! So what are the alternatives? Well, you could spend your nights collecting them outside with a torch but this method is certainly not "The Good Life - made Easy....) Although your birds and your hens may well enjoy the treat... You could go for barriers - Slug Gone is great because it provides a barrier that irritates the slug's foot, and how about SlugX - this was voted best tray in a Daily Telegraph trial - and they will die drinking beer (!) which can't be all bad... BUT our favourite and the one that all the organic farmers use that works fantastically well is Nemaslug which you can water on and will sort those pesky pests out for a good six weeks, and is perfectly safe for children, pets, wildlife and bees.

How does Nemaslug (Nematodes) work?

1: You water your Nematodes onto the soil and they seek out the slugs down in the soil.
2: The Nematodes kill the Slugs and become adults inside the dead slugs
3: A new generation of Nematodes are produced.
4: The new Nematodes are released as the pest decays in the soil
SORTED.

Why is it good?

1: Unique, works underground where 95% of slugs are found.
2: Long lasting control (six weeks)
3: Really economical - it protects plants for a few pence a day.
4: It even protects vulnerable potato varieties, germinating seeds and young seedlings.
and even better The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh says it is fab and they are an Official Endorser.
5: Nemaslug works at 5 degrees (pellets require 7 degrees)
6: Works really well in wet weather which can be a problem with other methods.
7: Large slug species can be controlled when Nemaslug is applied early.
8: Can be used safely on food crops.
and lastly it's Safe for children, pets, wildlife, and bees... Nice!

We have two pack sizes - the small is perfect for a garden and the larger one is designed for an allotment. You can order individually or we do a programme which will save money and protect your garden for the whole season. The soil is warm enough now so order now before they get to work on your hostas and lettuces....

So as I said we think they are brilliant - fantastic website, top notch advice please go and visit their pages!

http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk
http://www.heathergorringe.com
http://wigglywigglers.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/heathergorringe

All the Best!

Claire
Xx

Twitter:
@CropredyChicken
@Honestlyitseasy
@steelsyrockitup