Just potatoes this year - hope to get a crop of new potatoes. We're looking to move in the summer to a place with a bigger garden so I haven't started anything else (last year did carrots, beans, potatoes, salad leaves, chillies and tomatoes). My spring cabbage got decimated by all the bloody slugs (I suspect the warm winter we had played a part in that).

Anyway, if we get the bigger place I'm going to add a pair of ducks to the campermon household to sort out any slugs!

I have potatoes! Got some thick leafy....leaves coming out now.

I honestly never knew ducks ate slugs. I think a poly tunnel is in order next year with some raised planters, hopefully should keep slugs out.

Paul G wrote:I have potatoes! Got some thick leafy....leaves coming out now.

I honestly never knew ducks ate slugs. I think a poly tunnel is in order next year with some raised planters, hopefully should keep slugs out.

My lab tech has started keeping ducks and last year reported that for the first time in many years her hostas were growing really well. The ducks just love getting into the borders and hoovering up the slugs!

On the polytunnel front - I've got planned a rudimentary one for tomatoes. Last year I had loads and loads of tomatoes but the buggers didn't ripen because of the crap weather.

As I said though, at the moment all garden plans are on hold until we know whether we are moving or not.

We're moving in a few months but it's the folks place so we'll steal all the veg once it's ready even if we're gone!

Ducks would be great but I'm thinking about quails first.

Paul G wrote:
I honestly never knew ducks ate slugs.

How to train chickens to eat slugs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtcD2RcVgrk

NB: both ducks and chickens can pick up nasty parasites when eating raw slugs.

Paul G wrote:We're moving in a few months but it's the folks place so we'll steal all the veg once it's ready even if we're gone!

Ducks would be great but I'm thinking about quails first.

For the eggs or eating?

campermon wrote:

Paul G wrote:We're moving in a few months but it's the folks place so we'll steal all the veg once it's ready even if we're gone!

Ducks would be great but I'm thinking about quails first.

For the eggs or eating?

Eggs. And I'd like them as pets.

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Paul G wrote:
I honestly never knew ducks ate slugs.

How to train chickens to eat slugs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtcD2RcVgrk

NB: both ducks and chickens can pick up nasty parasites when eating raw slugs.

OMG that's gross. *icky icky*

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Paul G wrote:
I honestly never knew ducks ate slugs.

How to train chickens to eat slugs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtcD2RcVgrk

NB: both ducks and chickens can pick up nasty parasites when eating raw slugs.

My chickens go wild if I throw a worm for them when I'm digging! Meal worms they go absolutely crazy for. I once gave them some live stick insects (we had a population explosion at school) and they were scared of them at first, then realised they were a tasty snack.

The problem with chickens though is that if I let them over the crops they'll eat them too!

Nice!

grate garden lucky you to have such a place
i would really love to have some green at home

To be able to grow fruits and veggies in a garden is my idea of paradise!

I have the ideal vegetable garden....it's the next door neighbours, who grows too much for her own consumption

I also have a right of way through it to get to the road so i can appreciate all her lovely flowers as if they were my own

Well, I'm bookmarking.

I've been living in an appartment for the last 5 years, but currently building our own house on a nice piece of land. Probably going to start growing crops ourselves. One problem: I'm a vegetable garden know-nothing, so I'll be stealing ideas here.

With respect to what has been mentioned above about crop rotation ... don't forget that if you plant any edible legumes, such as peas, these plants fix atmospheric nitrogen, and are therefore an excellent way of increasing the fertility of your soil. If you plant some of your legumes alongside nutrient hungry species, it'll reduce the need to keep fertilising the nutrient hungry species.

Learn more about the variety of legumes you can press into service here.

Metatron and Paul, nice looking gardens you have going on there. I wish I could have one like yours.

Here underneath all the pines, it's pretty much impossible to grow my own. I do get my vegetables from a local CSA called Live Earth Farms though - I just stop down the street to pick up a boxload of assorted veggies and fruits in season that average about $1.50 a pound. I also get pastured eggs and pastured chickens through them as well.

Check out what I got this past week: (I get the budget share)

Newsletter Aug 6-12

Here's half of our garden so far...





We planted four different types of raspberries, and in the one box (1.2m x 1.2m), we have a bunch of ever bearing strawberries. The empty box on the right is going to get tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, and bell peppers.

We have two more of those boxes on the other side of the yard that gets less sun, and we seeded those with kale, chard, carrots, spinach, beans, peas, and radishes.

Mmmm, raspberries and buttercups.

Looking good J.

Nice!