Slug Patrol
Every morning starts with a walk through the gardens, the greenhouse, and the collection of fruit trees – especially the potted trees that are still waiting to go into the ground this year after all of the machine work is finished where the old driveway used to run.
I call it the “slug patrol” but it really involves more than just hunting out the slimy black creatures that are doing their best to reclaim my back garden. During the last four years I haven’t done much back there so that the surrounding black berries pushed in from the sides, horsetails and morning glories had free reign, raccoons ravaged the compost pile so that the area began a fast return to the wild. Still, during that time, I would occasionally hack out a clearing to plant a garlic patch (it is the only truly self-sustaining crop that survives back there) each fall. The three apple trees produce well for us, if we can get in before a black bear and her cub arrive just as the fruit ripens. There are two clumps of rhubarb that emerge from the tangle every spring and early summer. And there is also a large square section with old strawberry plants that somehow still produce even while having to compete with the slug, horsetail, black-berry, etc. onslaught each season.
This year, I decided to take back a small section of this back-garden tangle to plant some pole beans and climbing peas. While working compost into the garden, I noticed that the soil seemed quite a bit better than other parts of the property. Encouraged by this, I cleaned up another raised bed area for different carrots. Before the week was over, I’d moved from one section to another, so that a potato patch went in; a cabbage section was cleared; a long row with eight new blueberry plants now skirts along one edge after I cut back the blackberries. Artichokes, gooseberry, more leaks and kale and chicory have a foothold in the worst sections, and another large raised bed is waiting for more squash, cucumbers and beans. One more bonus is that the garlic is looking better than any crop we planted in earlier years.
The gardens in front of the house are a little easier to maintain. They aren’t so close to the encroaching wild. Plus, since I walk past them throughout the day, I regularly notice if a slug, or our cat, is becoming too interested in one of the plots.
The slug-patrol gives me a chance to start my day outside, making sure that no pest is given any extra daytime hours after their long night feeding on our vegetable starts. I might have to repair damage from last night’s wind, or do some watering if things are dry. Sometimes I come up with a new garden plan for next season, or just a way to make it easier this year. But mostly it’s a chance to really enjoy each new bit of growth and change that can sometimes happen in the span of just one day.
Every morning starts with a walk through the gardens, the greenhouse, and the collection of fruit trees – especially the potted trees that are still waiting to go into the ground this year after all of the machine work is finished where the old driveway used to run.
I call it the “slug patrol” but it really involves more than just hunting out the slimy black creatures that are doing their best to reclaim my back garden. During the last four years I haven’t done much back there so that the surrounding black berries pushed in from the sides, horsetails and morning glories had free reign, raccoons ravaged the compost pile so that the area began a fast return to the wild. Still, during that time, I would occasionally hack out a clearing to plant a garlic patch (it is the only truly self-sustaining crop that survives back there) each fall. The three apple trees produce well for us, if we can get in before a black bear and her cub arrive just as the fruit ripens. There are two clumps of rhubarb that emerge from the tangle every spring and early summer. And there is also a large square section with old strawberry plants that somehow still produce even while having to compete with the slug, horsetail, black-berry, etc. onslaught each season.
This year, I decided to take back a small section of this back-garden tangle to plant some pole beans and climbing peas. While working compost into the garden, I noticed that the soil seemed quite a bit better than other parts of the property. Encouraged by this, I cleaned up another raised bed area for different carrots. Before the week was over, I’d moved from one section to another, so that a potato patch went in; a cabbage section was cleared; a long row with eight new blueberry plants now skirts along one edge after I cut back the blackberries. Artichokes, gooseberry, more leaks and kale and chicory have a foothold in the worst sections, and another large raised bed is waiting for more squash, cucumbers and beans. One more bonus is that the garlic is looking better than any crop we planted in earlier years.
The gardens in front of the house are a little easier to maintain. They aren’t so close to the encroaching wild. Plus, since I walk past them throughout the day, I regularly notice if a slug, or our cat, is becoming too interested in one of the plots.
The slug-patrol gives me a chance to start my day outside, making sure that no pest is given any extra daytime hours after their long night feeding on our vegetable starts. I might have to repair damage from last night’s wind, or do some watering if things are dry. Sometimes I come up with a new garden plan for next season, or just a way to make it easier this year. But mostly it’s a chance to really enjoy each new bit of growth and change that can sometimes happen in the span of just one day.
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