Learning to grow food

[bigjim]

One allotment hand I once spoke to recommended getting hold of bran to keep the slugs at bay. Slugs love to eat bran. When it does get eaten, it expands, so if the slugs eat enough.... POP!

[RevdTess]

One allotment hand I once spoke to recommended getting hold of bran to keep the slugs at bay. Slugs love to eat bran. When it does get eaten, it expands, so if the slugs eat enough.... POP!

Why are slugs such crap creatures? Just about everything seems to cause them to explode or drown or shrivel. Almost seems like they enjoy the self-annihilation.

And then there's this:
"A commonly seen practice among many slugs is apophallation, when one or both of the slugs chew off the other's penis."

Perhaps this is why the banana slug has such a long one.

[MacG]

I saw a post on a site about local food systems. This is where you get together with others rather like the cooperative ideas someone mentioned earlier.

What might be possible is to create a local currency system around the local food system.
Read about it on http://www.postcarbon.org/node/1235

I find this extremely interesting!

[extractorfan]

Beer traps work well for slugs, as has been said.

Put a large flat stone protruding from a small bush and you may attract the Thrush which will use the stone to smash snails aginst. Snails are usually abundant where there's slugs.

Slugs don't like copper pipes, so surround your allotment with bits of copper pipe which you can just find. Hinders the arrival of newcomers. (I do this but don't know how effective it is being yet.)

Potatoes can be grown in a dustbin, put holes in the bottom, throw some straw in, put in some soil, put in seed potatoes, cover with soil, when the green shoots appear, put more soil in. Keep repeating until you've got them under a few feet of soil. I know someone who did this and was quite effective. Apparently the Victorians used to do it this way.

I've only growing Veg for 2 years so not at all an expert but I have learned that you do not plant Carrots in stoney soil, unless you want to enter a comedy Veg competition.

[extractorfan]

I?m hoping for some advice for myself a perhaps others too.

With my day off today, I?m planning the use of my allotment for next year. I had it since about August this year so it was too late to make the best use, we grew some winter cabbage, cauliflower and established a Globe Artichoke plant near (3 meters away) some fruit bushes that were already there.

We have a white fly problem all over the cabbages, I think its because all the other cabbages in the lots have been harvested (almost) and ours are the only ones left. Any organic hints to get rid of these would be gratefully received, but I?ll have to spray them with some nasty stuff it the cold doesn?t kill em.

I want to be organic, or as organic as possible, but have been considering stocking up on Nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides, just in case my organic methods don?t work out so well. I want the land to save me money as well as produce delicious veg.

There are a lot of trees about 700 meters away and I would like to attract Thrush?s to eat as many slugs as possible, anyone know what I could plant to do this, if I find out in the meantime I will post it.

I have put copper pipes around the edge of the plot because apparently they don?t like to cross copper.

I have a big pile of muck, which I think I?ll be digging in on Sunday. (Hope its not this cold).

I haven?t really thought about raised beds because the soil is really really good apparently, and I don?t see the benefit. Other allotment holders have raised beds and I didn?t really understand the reasoning for them apart from it saved their weary backs.

I wanted to plant broad beans under cloches this weekend too, but it is very frosty now and I?m having second thoughts, wont the cold kill the beans?

We haven?t got a greenhouse yet, can?t quite afford one. Was thinking of making one but I am a bit unsure, I don?t want a cheap mini polythene one because they look like they wouldn?t last.

[newmac]

Recently picked up some old sash windows. A bit of timber and a few hinges later I had a cold frame. Keep and eye out for any renovations or follow a double galzing firm around - they will be happy to let you have the old windows as it saves them a trip to the tip. Other option is the plastic bottle greenhouse that someone posted somewhere on these forums a fw months ago.

Slugs - surely old beer slops in jars is easier than relying on trushes? Your local should be able to give you enough ullage.

White fly - washing up liquid (ecover?) mixed with water and sprayed on the cabbages might work.

[aliwood]

Slugs: hate salt, so if you can invent plastic collars to go around your plants - perhaps an old yoghurt carton with the bottom cut off turned upside down, smear with vaseline or oil and then dip in salt to cover. Put the collar round the plant and make sure it goes into the soil all the way around. You need to renew the salt if it rains, but the collars last ages and I've had great success with it this year.

To attract birds, start now, this is the best time as they are getting short of food and if you attract them now they will stick around during the summer. Leave stones exposed for thrushes so they can use them as snail anvils. I also leave small piles of twigs and logs around in the shrubs for bugs to hide in and this gives them somewhere else to look for food. The RSPB usually have a heap of useful info, why not try their website.

[extractorfan]

Thanks for that aliwood and newmac, I will look at the RSPB site, didn't think of that.

Not sure about the salt solution for the slugs though, doesn't that get into the soil?

I've grown food in my garden for the last 2 years and yes I will use beer traps, but It's quite a large allotment so I think a multitude of defenses aginst them is in order.

I'm very nervous about building a greenhouse, but what the hell, I will give it a go. I'm good a fixing things, but not so good at entire projects.

Thanks again.

[skeptik]

I'm very nervous about building a greenhouse, but what the hell, I will give it a go. I'm good a fixing things, but not so good at entire projects.

Thanks again.

Dont be. building a small greenhouse is not difficult. You can buy in kit form. Exactly the same ( and same problems!) as putting together a piece of furniture from IKEA. Just make sure all the pieces were in the pack! Getting the foundation right is the worst of it. After that it is just a bolt together job - 2 people ideally.

[extractorfan]

White fly - washing up liquid (ecover?) mixed with water and sprayed on the cabbages might work

Someone on another site has told me to try old tea with washing up liquid in it!!!

Worth a try although this cold weather I think has killed them off now, along with the bloody cabbage I think

[extractorfan]

Well we got some cabbage in the end, but it was the cold that killed the whitefly i think.

Today I put some blackberries and tayberries near some gaps we had in the corners of the fence at the front of the allotment. I'll train these accross the gaps. In the meantime I'll staple chicken wire. Someone keeps nicking our palletts It's almost certainly another allotment holder. The cheek.

Kids hang around there as well, have been known to set fire to sheds and the like. We're not allowed to put up barbed wire so thorny bushes are the answer.

Noticed a Thrush there today

Dug a deep bed 2 weeks ago, a lot of effort but worth it I think. Not a weed in site around there.

Also found some voluteer onions. I going to let them grow, wonder what they'll be like, they must have been dormant for years

[Ballard]

I've doubled my plot, to 10 'Rods' (in allotment speak), approximately 20M x 20M.

I've also put up a shed, with solar power for my radio, light, and I thought I might try an immersion heater for making Tea. I am guessing really, but I hoped that the solar panel will be charging the battery 8 hours a day or so, this might be enough for a couple of cups of tea a week. The allotment is in the middle of the woods, we don't seem to have many intruders, so fingers crossed it shouldn?t get trashed.

I should be able to produce most of our veg requirement during the summer months, and at least enough potatoes, onions and squash to last well into next winter.


Plus, it's soo relaxing.

[Bandidoz]

There was a good edition of the Gardening Programme on BBC2 the other night, where they had a fantastic variety of species being grown. The dyes were quite interesting as well.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/tv_and_r ... _gardening

[Andy Hunt]

I liked the rather fine cannabis plant which had appeared from nowhere, and had been left to grow about 6 feet tall!

What made me laugh was their ideas to get rid of it . . . cut it into small pieces, burn it . . .

[AllanH]

I may be getting ahead of myself as all I've got planted outside right now is some Garlic from last year but I'm shortly going to plant out potatoes, carrots, turnips, onions, etc & want to know if anyone knows about storing after they've been dug up. Onions are ok I'll just hang them up but the books I've got say that you should put carrots, etc in boxes of dry peat or dry sand. This seems like a lot of hassle to me & awkward as I'll need to buy/make boxes & dry out peat & clean out my, dangerously cluttered, shed. Anyone know any better ways to store vegetables?