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« Last post by saddad on Yesterday at 10:55:42 »
Try going out at dusk on a damp evening, once collected 500 in an hour... probably more, I stopped counting. They climb well, even seen them on the greenhouse roof!
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« Last post by Paulh on Yesterday at 09:55:49 »
Perhaps try planting them out when they are a bit bigger next time? The slugs and snails are less likely to go for them if they are tougher.
Some years ago I spent a sunny afternoon preparing everything and setting out a dozen bean plants, newly grown from seed. They looked lovely but when I returned the next morning all were slimey stumps. It's a story I tell when I hear someone saying we should be prepared to share what we grow with nature's creatures.
I prefer to avoid using slug pellets and other controls if I can (other than nematodes), so planting them out when larger also helps on that angle.
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« Last post by juliev on Yesterday at 08:44:59 »
Thank you all for sharing your process, it is fascinating! I am very much a pencil and paper person but I keep track of varieties and main info on an excel spreadsheet, as well as a rough sowing timeline and planting plans. I plan ahead for crops that need protection or that need longer in the ground. Others, I just draw the map after planting. The seed boxes have multiplied (totally not my fault!). Separate ones for beans, peas, squashes, corn, and the rest goes in a final box. Add to that the extras for the seeds library... At least they are all in the same area  Every month, I pull out what needs sowing into the "sow now" box and then they go back to where they belong. I really need to sort out a freezer back up... Dealing with the volume of baby plants has been a challenge... Aubergines, peppers/chillies, tomatoes take up so much room for such a long time! I even left some in cells as an experiment and planted the survivors at the allotment (they can crop or they can become compost...). This year, I did all the beans and corn direct and most of the squashes (the direct seeded ones are doing better than the ones I started in pots).
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« Last post by JanG on Yesterday at 06:17:27 »
I think slugs and snails certainly can climb up over two feet. They’re pretty good at scaling walls etc. They’re also good at hiding in the soil. It’s a very bad season for them too, as we had such a very wet winter and spring.
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« Last post by JanG on Yesterday at 06:09:15 »
This is how I planned my seed sowing and planting out schedule; https://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/P/Planning/Planning.htm
Click on the images to enlarge them.
I very much enjoyed looking at the way you organised your sowing and planting, Tee Gee. I imagine that, like you, many of us have moved from paper to computer records. As I’ve said before I use Airtable and what I love about it is that I can use it on my phone too and, for example, take a photo of a variety out in the garden and add it immediately to the record. I used to rely on a table I drew up of what to sow in each week of the year but decided on varieties as I went along. I still use this paper table sometimes as an extra check that I’m not missing anything. My two growing areas consist of beds about four feet wide with grass paths between, wide enough to take our ride-on mower, so not too labour intensive, though keeping edges cut back is a regular task. But I have an elaborate system for recording bed numbers in polytunnel and in-ground beds. But in my case it’s for my records, not for advance planning. In your notes you raise the question of not growing excess because of space at this time of year before young plants are planted out. I certainly agree that this is a significant aspect. For certain crops, mainly the tender ones, I do have a lot of spares as an insurance. For example I mostly grow only one plant of each tomato variety as I have a lot of varieties I want to try each year. But I always pot on two and then choose the stronger one to plant on. All those extra tomato plants take up a lot of space. I do the same for aubergines, peppers, melons and cucurbits, so even more space. The waste of compost worries me although it ends up back on flower or vegetable beds so not exactly wasted, and some spares can be given away. Juliev raised such an interesting subject. I guess we all devise approaches which fit our growing conditions but also reflect the ways our minds work. For example, I’m a meticulous recorder but shy away from being over-planned as I like to leave things open to chance or whim or circumstances at the time.
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« Last post by JanG on Yesterday at 05:32:18 »
Every year is the year I am going to get organised have a system , I am getting better but so much room for improvement . I have a small ten drawer filing cabinet mainly in order of sowing dates , but lettuce, tomatoes and beans are separate, fail number one! I also like to keep seed swap seeds separate, fail number two! I am more organised with the seed swap , I grow on the allotment which means isolation is difficult , last year I added runner beans but these were grown at home. I have a separate bed for the seed circle and rarely use the produce ,seed saving being the priority. I keep a separate notebook for these seeds.
I think my problem is that I see each seed as a bit of a wonder and not just another seed .
The end result is plenty to eat and share. Sorry not to have been able to give any helpful ideas.
That actually sounds rather organised,MR. My seeds are much more scattered than yours. I have some in a little freezer, lettuce are in a box in the fridge, and others are in a utility room cupboard in various boxes. I also admire the way you have a separate bed for the seed circle which implies that you think out in advance what you’d like to contribute, whereas I’m much less methodical and decide as the season progresses. I very much like your feeling that each seed is a wonder. I completely agree and the ways in which seed germinates never fail to amaze and for me creates one of my main excitements in growing.
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« Last post by widgetwilk on May 30, 2024, 19:03:16 »
i know slugs and snails might be smart, but can they climb up over 2 foot high, and I cannot see any, `
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« Last post by Tee Gee on May 30, 2024, 15:22:29 »
This is how I planned my seed sowing and planting out schedule; https://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/P/Planning/Planning.htmClick on the images to enlarge them.
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« Last post by widgetwilk on May 30, 2024, 10:17:38 »
Hi not been here for some time, but now need advice and help, I have a raised bed, 2 foot of the ground, and all the runner bean plants I put in are being eaten, the last ones I put in on Tuesday and covered with netting, thinking it might be pigeons, but they have been eaten, cannot see anything under the leaves of the two that are left, cannot see anything on the soil, so am really puzzled as to what is happening to my beans, anyone got any ideas, ?
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