sheltered dug-in slug traps

My favourite garden accessory this year is the dug-in slug trap. It’s simple and very effective.

Over the course of a week, I had watched as one by one slugs attacked my pepper plants, leaving only the stubble of a stalk and a few discarded leaves. I really didn’t want to use slug pellets. I had put down coffee grounds (fertilising and supposed to irritate slug bellies) and ground mace (it works for human attackers!), and would spent half an hour every night after darkness settled creeping round with a flashlight pulling slugs and snails off tender leaves. Fortunately, my neighbour Angel suggested trying this and it works!

Step 1: I used a plastic picnic cup cup as I don’t mind if it gets ruined with slime and a tin of beer. I actually like Polish beer, so this seemed like a bit of a waste until I learned the slugs like it too. I also decided to make a wee umbrella using a jam jar lid wider than the mouth of the cup and three small stakes, to keep the sun off and the rain out.

Polish tinned lager, 1 low tray, 1 plastic cup, 1 small pretty plant pot, 3 knitting needles for staking and 1 jam jar lid

As well as the dug-in trap, I laid out two traps that I could move around the garden as needed, using an old pot tray and a high, narrow plant pot. I’ve used this type of movable trap before, although I’ve always wondered whether the trek up and over the sides put them off.

Step 2: Next I dug a hole so that the rim of the cup sits just at surface level. The hole looks enormous with nothing in it, but it is probably about 3 x 2 inches.

Be careful at this point, I’ve exposed some roots

Step 3: Insert the cup to ensure it fits. I think it’s better to be conservative in your estimates, as it’s a bit easier to dig out than fill in to get the correct size.

Nestle the cup as close to surface-level as possible, so the slugs just slip right in

Step 4: As I mention above, I was a bit worried about rainwater diluted my beer, so I devised a cover that won’t interfere with the trap itself. After inserting the cup, I arranged three 7-inch 5mm DPNs to form a triangle that will support the jam jar lid to act as an umbrella.

Angle them slightly inwards so that they form a buttress to hold the lid in place

Step 5: Adding the beer is much easier if you gently remove the cup (but leave the stakes where thy are), fill the cup with beer and carefully sink back into the hole. The other option is pouring beer willy-nilly at the wrong angle so that the foam threatens to sop all over your garden. Trust me.

Careful with that beer! You don’t want to make the plants even tastier by sloshing it everywhere!

Step 6: Top with the jam jar lid and voila!

I don’t imagine slugs like watered down beer any more than I do

You do have to be a bit diligent about removing the slugs — I’ve discovered they aren’t as interested in beer when it smells of death. It’s pretty disgusting, but worth it. I’ve been replacing the beer every few days, although once summer hits properly it’ll have to be more frequent.

Even so, it works a treat! The sheltered dug-in slug trap.

A great natural solution to protecting my baby beans

If you try this technique, link to it so we can see! In the meantime, how do you protect your garden from slugs and snails?

the rejuvenated garden

Radishes, runner beans, beet seedlings, strawberries, cress and the guard zebra

This year I am back to gardening with a vengeance, so I thought a little update was in order! Why did I take so much time off? The trouble with container gardening is that once the soil has been depleted there’s nowhere to move the soil. So last year I followed the old farming technique of letting my garden fallow to rejuvenate the soil.

Bell peppers, a heap of seedlings of unknown origin, peas and potatoes

It’s actually much easier than you might think, mostly because it requires more patience than anything else, and it’s more effective than I could have hoped, too! I was able to bring life back to my container soil without throwing it out and starting again following these steps:

Step 1: Much to the despair of my neighbours, I let my pots transform into a tangle of weeds and beds of moss for at least one full season (here in London that means roughly February to November).

Step 2: About 14-18 weeks before I wanted to start growing, I pulled out the weeds but kept them to one side and lay down almost 30 litres of manure — and if my neighbours had a problem with the weeds, I can only imagine what they thought of this move! For me, that horsey dankness was the smell of my soil rebuilding itself.

Step 3: Over top of the manure, I layered the leaves and twigs of the weeds I’d pulled up (taking care to remove any roots) and let them dry as a sort of mulch. Those pots with moss I left alone.

Step 4: Then I let the whole thing overwinter.

Tomatoes, strawberries and runner beans

The result was wonderful! When I lifted up the nests of dried twigs and leaves and rolled back the moss, the soil underneath was rich and full of goodness (not to mention full of happy invertebrates)! You can see the results best under the strawberries and lettuce below. That there is 100% revitalised container soil.

Strawberries and two types of lettuce

Although I have several large plants, only a few of them have been grown by me as seeds. This year I found a whole bag full of seed packets under my sink, most of them nearly two years out of date! So I did what any cavalier gardener would do and chucked them into the soil to see what would grow. So far I’ve had the best luck with cress, radish, bean, pea and beet seedlings, which have all come up like mad. I have two pots with mixed seedlings and no idea what they might be because I, of course, neglected to keep a record. Carrots, definitely, and some herbs, but other than that I’ll just have to be patient to see what comes up.

Broad bean seedlings with my new favourite garden accessory: the dug-in slug trap

In my next post, I’m going to show-and-tell my Jerry-rigged greenhouse roof as well as my dug-in slug traps. (I was so pleased with my slug traps that I drew a diagram for my secondary-school students to demonstrate how effective they are. Response: ‘Miss, no offence, but you sound a little crazy.’)

warm up for winter

Walking home from the cinema yesterday it hit me just how cold it is getting.

On Saturday night we were in the garden BBQ-ing some Beer Soaked Bratwurst and it was pretty warm as I only needed a cardi however suddenly it has decided to become icy!!

I really love an icy, snowy winter but now that I don’t have any soil or grassy area in the garden and everything I grow is in pots there becomes a much higher risk of the roots of my plants freezing in the winter months.

As I would normally dig holes in my soil and put my pots inside them to keep them snug I knew I needed another method, so I’ve been planning for a few months in preparation for the frost in the garden by collecting as much bubble wrap as possible.

This morning I went out and put my most vulnerable plants in the mini greenhouses (the chilli, the blueberry, the pond plants and the rush) and wrapped the remaining small potted plants in the bubble wrap.

Look at my lovely Chrysanthemum in bloom!!

There were plenty of new leaves on the ground so I gathered them up and placed a light layer over the soil of each pot too to keep in any heat and hopefully the leaves will decompose and collect the frost and not the soil directly. This method is pretty much taken from my old garden where I left all the fallen leaves on top of my plants over winter!!

I really hope that my trellis plants survive (clematis, honeysuckle and vines) as they are very delicate when in pots and they were doing soooooo well. I really need some good coverage next year to deter the crazy dog!!

Fingers crossed I’ve wrapped it all up warm enough I should maybe knit them little plant hats!!

‘No two gardens are the same…..

…… No two days are the same in one garden’ Hugh Johnson

It’s been a bit of a dramatic few months.

Me and my love decided we wanted a place that was all our own, we found a flat we loved, got a mortgage, bought it and moved in! All in the space of a few months!
We are slowly getting settled, however the big move for me was, of course, my garden.

My old little garden featured heavily on loumms,

from it’s beginnings as a weed filled mess

through becoming established

to the glory of a working kitchen garden,

I photographed and blogged my way through the process.

My pitfalls and triumphs were posted here along side all the wonderful food I got to make from what I succeeded in growing.

So as you can imagine it was hard to get my head around leaving it.
However I would never buy anywhere without an outside area and it turns out that my new little garden (all mine, not shared with 18 cats, loads of slugs and a tree!) is a dream!!!

I knew that I’d never be spoilt again in terms of the size of the last place and all I really wanted was a little area to relax in and grow my veggies.
I certainly found it!

As my dad said ‘you’ve got yourself a little sun trap here!’

I brought everything I had planted, 4 trips in the car with Emmms, in pots as I now have decking, and they are all thriving!

There is always a risk when up heaving established plants but so far they are all loving their new home.

My flowers, the Rush and the Vera are all sitting on top or some lovely early 19th century bricks I got from Freecycle and my Lily flowered for the first time ever (sorry no pic but it was a lovely delicate pink flower)

Along side them is my big pot containing what I originally thought to be two courgette plants which turns our to be one courgette

and one cucumber!!

Sooooo happy as I thought all of my cucumbers had died!

Beside the big pot, along the side wall are my two greenhouses.

One protecting my fruit trees (thanks Emmms!)

and the other has my 3 tomato plants, and my peppers and chilli plants.

For the moment, until we get our new garden furniture, I have some lilies, my onions, and a couple of my old rockery shrubs sitting on top of my old green wooden chairs and huge metal bucket.

Waiting for a home of its own is the thriving raspberry bush which is temporarily sitting between the BBQ and the wooden bench.

Dotted around on top of the walls are the Periwinkle

The silver fern

some thyme

and al load of general bits and pieces including the gift from my sister for my birthday, a cute little welly boot pot!

And perched on the window sill are my other herbs waiting for a new home on the balcony with the salad leaves.

and I’ve got a tap by the back door!!

So there it is, my new garden,

I love it!!!!!

spring time buddings

My fruit bushes this morning

Blueberry

Gooseberry

Raspberry

Just lush!!
I love the spring time

fresh slow-roasted tomatoes on conchiglia, with warmed olives

Back in August, during my rejoicing at my sneaky garden going rogue and growing things with or without me, I mentioned one of the delicious dishes that resulted: the recipe I’m sharing here today: Slow-Roasted Tomotoes on Conchiglia, with Warmed Olives. It very quickly became one of my Very Favourite meals.

Its secret weapon is, well, there are several secret weapons. First, the tomatoes in were fresh, fresh, fresh. I managed to get four meals-worth of tomatoes out of my garden which was AWESOME; however, I’ve also made it a couple of times with store-bought toms and it was just as delicious. If anything, because you’re slow-roasting the tomatoes, it makes the flavour of the store-boughts soar.

Second, the tomatoes are slow-roasted with slivers of garlic: 2 to 3 cloves minimum, depending on the strength. I’ve noted before I am a garlic maven, so sometimes I’ll go for even more. And just before you start holding your nose just reading about it, because you’re roasting the garlic in slivers, it really takes the pong off.

Third, the whole dish is laid on a bed of fresh salad leaves, which makes it seem terribly wholesome and good for you. I foraged for my own wild rocket leaves all summer and they have bite like you wouldn’t believe. This dish works just as well with any salad leaf; the last time I made it I used dandelion leaves ‘harvested’ from my garden (intentionally cultivated, of course) and bagged spinach from the grocers and it was beautiful.

Fourth, the warmed olives give it a final kick that will leave you melting in your chair. It is that good.

I’ve added a few notes at the bottom, about the ‘real’ way to cook pasta, factoring in timings and the amount of tomatoes I suggest using (lest you look at the list and think I’m nuts).

ingredients:

4 tbsp. olive oil (extra virgin or otherwise)
1 1/2 lb. fresh tomatoes, halved and quartered, depending on size
2-3 large cloves garlic, sliced lengthways into slivers
1 tbsp., plus a pinch, dried oregano (or several sprigs fresh)
4 oz. fresh Kalamata olives, quartered lengthways and pitted
7 oz. conchiglia (shell pasta)
enough salad leaves to make a bed on each plate
sea salt
black pepper to taste

method:

Pre-heat to the oven to about 400 F/gas 7. In a large roasting tray, with sides at least 1-inch high, heat 3 tbsp. olive oil until warm enough to easily coat the bottom.

Arrange the tomatoes cut-side up, add the garlic slivers, several generous pinches of salt, some black pepper and the dried oregano (if using), drizzle with the remaining 1 tbsp. and toss to ensure everything is nicely coated. (If you are using fresh herbs, scatter these over top now.) Place the tray in the upper half of the oven and leave to roast for about 45 minutes to an hour.

After about 45 minutes the tomatoes should have collapsed into themselves and there ought to be the beginnings of a nice seedy jus mingling with the olive oil. When the tomatoes have arrived at this point, bring a pot of water to the boil. Once the water is boiling on the stove top add the pasta to the water, add the olives to the tomatoes in the oven, keeping a few aside for the garnish if desired (see below).

When the pasta is just about finished, remove the tomatoes from the oven and pass a spatula underneath them, which will nudge any that have started to stick and get the whole lots nicely mixed up.

Prepare the plates by lining them each with a bed of salad leaves. Once the pasta is cooked to your liking, drain it, then distribute over your plates. Spoon the tomato mixture over the pasta layer. Garnish in the centre with a bit of fresh chopped herbs if you have them or a spoon of finely chopped olives.

notes:

1: This recipe makes about 3 meals, well, say, 2 meals for dinner with enough for a decent lunch the next day.

2: The ingredients list is really flexible and completely depends on your own personal preference. Because the tomatoes reduces quite a lot, I would say you need just over half a pound per person (or a over kilo for a family of 4), and here, admittedly, I opt for more veg than pasta. However, you may not be as massive gluttons as we are when it comes to your veggies. 

3: If you need to wait to start cooking the pasta (which should be done only just before serving), leave the tomatoes in the oven with the heat almost turned off. They should be fine. I would pass a spatula under them to ensure they don’t stick. I wouldn’t, however, recommend leaving them like this for too long if you can help it.

4: According to those in the know, the best way to prepare water for pasta is the salt it and add the oil just as the water has settled into a simmer. You should add about a teaspoon (5 ml) salt per person and ‘line’ the surface with oil, the correct method for which, says my cousin Guiseppe (all right, Joe), is to make two wide circles in the water and draw a line through them with your oil.

5: The amount of time it takes to cook pasta seems to vary significantly. In my kitchen it takes about 12 minutes to cook pasta, whether it’s for 2 people or 6. In other kitchens it takes longer. The same applies for bringing the water to the boil. In my kitchen, it takes about 12 minutes, but in my parents’ house growing up it would take about half an hour. Don’t forget to accommodate these factors when timing this meal!

slight confusion

I think I’ve slightly confused my little garden!

Last week I decided to begin preparing my garden for autumn/winter.
I noticed that the nights were getting colder and I read an article about how we were expecting an early winter (end of October)

I had a spare few hours on Saturday so decided to begin preparation for winter.

It turned out that my veggie patch had been completely over run by snails (a lot worse than I originally thought) and the cats had managed to get in a do their business everywhere totally ruining what wasn’t destroyed by the snails.

So, holding back the tears, I dug the whole thing up.

At least now it will have enough time for the soil to recover for next years sowing.

I moved some flowers to the place I want them next year tidied the lawn and put down some more grass seeds in the patchy sections.

I also moved the blueberry bush to where it will spend the winter. I dug a large hole to fit the pot and am planning to cover the entire thing in muslin as the nights grow colder.

I thought I was well on the way!!

That was until London starting experiencing a late heat wave!!!

It’s so hot!! 26 degrees C!

I’ve been noticing a red colour coming from my tomato plants so it looks like they are turning!! The sun has brought them out!!

I picked a few and heard they tasted lovely ( allergy prevents me from trying :( )there are plenty more however that I can use to make a sauce!!

My little peppers who seemed to be unsuccessful this year have started fruiting

and my pund has been given a new lease of life!

To think I almost took the pond plants out to give to a friend who is looking after them during the winter!

As the weather is so good and my garden is so tidy I’ve been able to spend my (very rare) spare time enjoying it!

I went out today and bought a few evergreens for the containers in the front garden as the Lobelia didn’t survive, and also have added a lavender bush (bit sad looking at the moment) and a pretty Pieris Japonica.

I also planted a few more rockery plants round the pund.

Looks like I’ll be getting a lot out of the garden this year than I thought!

BBQ anyone????

the garden gone rogue

It’s been all Adventures in Cooking the last few days and it all started with my rogue garden. I think I’ve mentioned here before (and if not here, then on Twitter) that I had originally decided to let the garden ‘fallow’ this year.

As I’m a container gardener, the soil I use becomes depleted of nutrients after a couple of years. However, getting rid of the soil is a bit of a mission. The council won’t accept soil in its garden waste programme. Short of lugging it up to Telegraph Hill, pot by pot, the soil I’ve got is the soil I’m stuck with. So I figured, I’d follow the wisdom of the ages and leave it. Letting it grow up with weeds for a season or two seems somewhat counter-intuitive, but it goes a long way to regenerating the soil’s health.

So I let the weeds take over. They billowed up in a raucous cacophony of colour and foliage and fairly tumbled over the edges of each container. It helps, I think, that we had such great weather throughout the spring and so many long intermittent spells of intense sun then heavy rainfall throughout the early summer.

In mid- July, I finally decided I would help it all along by prepping for autumn and the winter months with some rich manure. For a city girl born and bred, I LOVE manure. It reminds me of the moors around my grandparents’ home in Yorkshire, of running around Norfolk as a child and of weeks away holidaying in farmhouses in Ontario.

I didn’t bother to take pictures of ‘before’ when I started to clear away some of the weeds, which is such a shame really. To my complete surprise, my garden has been secretly doing just fine without me. Under the weeds, potatoes, strawberries, salad leaves, vast fields of oregano and several unexpected onions have been flourishing! Who knew?!

Lou had given me some hand-reared tomato plants for my birthday, which I had been growing on my kitchen windowsill. As soon as I saw how healthy my garden really was, I quickly transplanted them and they’re doing really well, too.

Coupled with a greenhouse-grown tomato plant, I’ve already harvested about two pounds of tomatoes, and that is what we had for dinner Friday night: slow-roasted garlicky tomato and olives with conchiglia, on a layer of freshly foraged salad leaves. Delicious!

beauty

After the week we have had so far in London and across the country (I’m not going to go any deeper into it right now) I decided I needed a little beauty in my life.

So I headed to the garden centre to buy new plants!!

On Monday I cleaned out our front garden which had been needing it for a few months now. I got rid of the three foot weeds, cut back the dying and dead branches off the Rose and bush. And generally made the area nicer.

It needed to be an area that was going to develop over time and that didn’t need much care and attention.
I decided to go with a few flowering evergreen shrubs, a few perennials, and some smaller border plants to brighten it all up.

After I dug up the soil and added some compost I was ready to plant!!

I began by planting the Fuscia I was given from a friend for my birthday, against the small wall as it will continue to grow (hopefully) and become a nice cover for the wall as it is not particularly attractive.

I added the yellow Chrysanthemum to block some old roots and placed the Dianthus around the border.

There was another old root that I can’t remove slightly sticking out so the other side of it I planted the Hebe Variegata as once it grows it should help to hide the root!!

Sticking to the yellow purple theme I added the other Chrysanthemum to the front corner and surrounded it, and the Hebe with Gazania.

I have had a few beautiful containers sitting in my kitchen now that were gifts from my family for my birthday so I took the opportunity to pot some beautiful hanging Lobelia in them and they just look adorable!

Tool basket

Watering can

To sit in the centre of the Lobelia I potted a pretty Argyranthemum and my front garden was complete!

I really wanted to add a lavender too but ran out of space so maybe I’ll just buy one anyway and keep it in the pot!!

juicy fruit (and vegetables)

Quick update on my current fruit and vegetables!
I’ve managed to pick a good few now of everything, except the tomatoes but they won’t be long!!

Unfortunately the snails get all my courgettes just as they reach their peak.
I’m so annoyed and have tried to keep them away but they are still at it! Impossible!