Should we go with some slug killing tips first? After all, knowledge is power and power corrupts and that's good... right? Sorry quoting Knockin' Dog songs again... and the song never even got recorded, so it's even more obscure.
So i broke out the slug scissors... you see i inherited about 9 pair of scissors, so i dedicated one of them "slug scissors". You can just snip the bastards, although some mend and the head half tries to make a getaway. It works well... you get an effective easy kill, but I'm kind of partial to crushing them on a rock. You see i like my slug carcasses in one spot because slugs like to carnivore the dead slugs, so if i have all my kills on a rock in a known place then the slugs will then come there to feed on the dead slugs and then whamo! A second round of crushing or snipping. I'm not crazy about just snipping a slug, say that's on a bean plant, and having it's carcass fall to the base of the bean plant. The reason for this is because the carcass will just encourage other slugs to come and feed at the base of the bean plant and then of course when that food is done maybe the slug just move on up to the bean plant. It appears that slugs are creatures of habit... if you see a plant with lots of slug damage in the day then there is a good chance that the slug will be back on that plant in the night. Come back at night and, as Dad would say "bump them off".
I had a neighbour over who has enlisted me to help with a garden at her aunt's house down the street about 50 blocks... a good bike ride and an excellent destination. Big yard, shady play area for the kids... all the right things we need for a good time. She was in my yard the other day to drop off a map shortly after a squirrel ate my whole broccoli plant... i showed her the holes where the peanuts go and what was left of the broccoli. Her words... "holy shit, i would be seriously pissed" and then "SHE FEEDS THEM!"... and then "you have to get more traps up". Perhaps my insanity is justified after all... if a loving mother can feel that, then a man gardener is not a savage for thinking the same.
The grey bastard squirrel ate the whole broccoli plant... Hopefully we win our hockey game in Sherwood tomorrow... maybe i will stop at the pond on the way out there to smell the beautiful flowers, hear the birds, feel the sun and take care of other minor business. You want to be dead sure that your pests don't come back.
So we were at this garden out by 52nd and Woodstock in the fine city of Portland. I of course forgot my camera, but fortunately somebody had a cell phone with a camera so i could take a photo and email it to my desk for the report. The only problem is that i can't email a photo from a phone... i got into all kinds of strange menus after i tried to change "2" into "@". I'm a natural Luddite... do people actually have small enough fingers to type on those slide out keyboards? I'd rather become proficient on the mandolin.
OK back to the garden... Apparently this garden has been a garden for like 60 years... there was a grandfather working the land years ago who wasn't shy about dousing the soil with chemical herbicides and insecticides... Old school like. I remember my father actually had DDT for his garden, but he didn't really use it being a man of cautionary paranoia, and a fan of peregrine falcons as well. I remember he did say "it works really well". Here's to hoping the soil has returned to a more "organic" nature... apparently they have been working the land for a decade (chemical free), so it's probable that they have eaten all the toxins through the garden vegetables. Have no fear... there will be no shortage of toxins in the future... shall we say all elements (air, earth, water and tire fires) will be ripe with toxins. It's is a guarantee, make no mistake, in fact the economy dictates that it must be so. There is nothing you can do, but you should still grow food... it's a good think to know... things might collapse... it might come in handy.
The soil in this garden is a dream for sure... beautiful stuff. Old Clay Robertson's cement garden has a long way to go, but fortunately Robertson has the will to change the land. They have added a lot over the years, and I'm sure the tilling and growing of roots for the past 60 years has been excellent. I did a fair bit of weeding in this beautiful soft soil and then started to tend an old neglected lilac tree by the garden, and then i threw in some beans and did some solid pruning on the tomato plants (cutting away the lower and browning tomato leaves to help keep disease at bay). This garden is up and running pretty good... tomatoes booming, beans a blasting, grapes and raspberries beets, lettuce. I think its a matter they they are busy so more people tending can help assure the garden will get the best care.
It was really nice to see a garden not so fucking savaged by squirrels. No holes beside all the plants, no chews, no peanut shells, no unearthed seedlings dying in the hot sun. It was like a dream garden, big and open and full of sun, just remove the little weeds around the big plants and let them roll. We put a few bags of compost soil around the plants for nutrients and further soil amendment and it was all good. Grow plants rather than the fighting pests to keep plants alive. I looked into some pepper spray to put on the plants so the ass hole squirrels won't eat them, it was pretty pricey stuff at the high end nursery, so i will try a SR jones special pepper concoction.
Make a pepper spray by mixing 1 tsp. of mild liquid detergent, 1 gal. of water and 1 small bottle of hot pepper sauce. Mix these ingredients in a gallon jug, then transfer to a spray bottle. Spray this mixture on plants.
So i broke out the slug scissors... you see i inherited about 9 pair of scissors, so i dedicated one of them "slug scissors". You can just snip the bastards, although some mend and the head half tries to make a getaway. It works well... you get an effective easy kill, but I'm kind of partial to crushing them on a rock. You see i like my slug carcasses in one spot because slugs like to carnivore the dead slugs, so if i have all my kills on a rock in a known place then the slugs will then come there to feed on the dead slugs and then whamo! A second round of crushing or snipping. I'm not crazy about just snipping a slug, say that's on a bean plant, and having it's carcass fall to the base of the bean plant. The reason for this is because the carcass will just encourage other slugs to come and feed at the base of the bean plant and then of course when that food is done maybe the slug just move on up to the bean plant. It appears that slugs are creatures of habit... if you see a plant with lots of slug damage in the day then there is a good chance that the slug will be back on that plant in the night. Come back at night and, as Dad would say "bump them off".
I had a neighbour over who has enlisted me to help with a garden at her aunt's house down the street about 50 blocks... a good bike ride and an excellent destination. Big yard, shady play area for the kids... all the right things we need for a good time. She was in my yard the other day to drop off a map shortly after a squirrel ate my whole broccoli plant... i showed her the holes where the peanuts go and what was left of the broccoli. Her words... "holy shit, i would be seriously pissed" and then "SHE FEEDS THEM!"... and then "you have to get more traps up". Perhaps my insanity is justified after all... if a loving mother can feel that, then a man gardener is not a savage for thinking the same.
The grey bastard squirrel ate the whole broccoli plant... Hopefully we win our hockey game in Sherwood tomorrow... maybe i will stop at the pond on the way out there to smell the beautiful flowers, hear the birds, feel the sun and take care of other minor business. You want to be dead sure that your pests don't come back.
So we were at this garden out by 52nd and Woodstock in the fine city of Portland. I of course forgot my camera, but fortunately somebody had a cell phone with a camera so i could take a photo and email it to my desk for the report. The only problem is that i can't email a photo from a phone... i got into all kinds of strange menus after i tried to change "2" into "@". I'm a natural Luddite... do people actually have small enough fingers to type on those slide out keyboards? I'd rather become proficient on the mandolin.
OK back to the garden... Apparently this garden has been a garden for like 60 years... there was a grandfather working the land years ago who wasn't shy about dousing the soil with chemical herbicides and insecticides... Old school like. I remember my father actually had DDT for his garden, but he didn't really use it being a man of cautionary paranoia, and a fan of peregrine falcons as well. I remember he did say "it works really well". Here's to hoping the soil has returned to a more "organic" nature... apparently they have been working the land for a decade (chemical free), so it's probable that they have eaten all the toxins through the garden vegetables. Have no fear... there will be no shortage of toxins in the future... shall we say all elements (air, earth, water and tire fires) will be ripe with toxins. It's is a guarantee, make no mistake, in fact the economy dictates that it must be so. There is nothing you can do, but you should still grow food... it's a good think to know... things might collapse... it might come in handy.
The soil in this garden is a dream for sure... beautiful stuff. Old Clay Robertson's cement garden has a long way to go, but fortunately Robertson has the will to change the land. They have added a lot over the years, and I'm sure the tilling and growing of roots for the past 60 years has been excellent. I did a fair bit of weeding in this beautiful soft soil and then started to tend an old neglected lilac tree by the garden, and then i threw in some beans and did some solid pruning on the tomato plants (cutting away the lower and browning tomato leaves to help keep disease at bay). This garden is up and running pretty good... tomatoes booming, beans a blasting, grapes and raspberries beets, lettuce. I think its a matter they they are busy so more people tending can help assure the garden will get the best care.
It was really nice to see a garden not so fucking savaged by squirrels. No holes beside all the plants, no chews, no peanut shells, no unearthed seedlings dying in the hot sun. It was like a dream garden, big and open and full of sun, just remove the little weeds around the big plants and let them roll. We put a few bags of compost soil around the plants for nutrients and further soil amendment and it was all good. Grow plants rather than the fighting pests to keep plants alive. I looked into some pepper spray to put on the plants so the ass hole squirrels won't eat them, it was pretty pricey stuff at the high end nursery, so i will try a SR jones special pepper concoction.
Make a pepper spray by mixing 1 tsp. of mild liquid detergent, 1 gal. of water and 1 small bottle of hot pepper sauce. Mix these ingredients in a gallon jug, then transfer to a spray bottle. Spray this mixture on plants.
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