I never realised til now just how many wars were actually going on in the allotment or garden, it really is a jungle out there! This year I have been blessed with many ladybirds, more to do with the fact I have an abundance of greenfly than anything else. So the ladybirds battle the greenfly for me, then the ants come along. The ants like the sugary secretions the greenfly make so they will fight the ladybirds, one tree I have is a real battleground! Who knew?
I am presently having a battle myself with the pesky slippery little suckers, the slugs. They are pretty much munching their way through some of my plants and have practically decimated my cucumbers. I like to be as organic as possible with my gardening, I figure there are a lot of beasties living in the same environment and certainly the friendly ones I do not wish to harm, so for those hungry gastropods I thought I would create a few slug pubs so they can wash those plants down after a long day. The yeast in the lager attracts them into what ever container you choose (I use buried jam jars), then they swill the night away singing sea shanties until they finally meet their drunken demise. It's the nicest way I can think of and it certainly won't effect any passing hedgehogs...
So that leads me to another war, one that I'm having in my head. I'm trying to attract the wildlife into my plot as many of them are friends and will actually take care of the critters you don't want. Rhys built a hedgehog home, we have a very tiny wildlife pond (we recently had a newt visitor much to our delight - we called him Alan), a pile of rocks, insect house, bird feeders etc. I'm trying to be organic too, so what do you do when your neighbours use weedkiller, slug pellets etc? Don't get me wrong, there is nothing in the rule book that they have to be organic, that's their prerogative, but should I be encouraging wildlife to an area when next door could be deadly? I am in a real quandary and if anyone has an answer for me I would be so grateful.
Apart from the battles and fights everything else seems to be going well, toms, potatoes, mange tout, beans, courgettes, sweetcorn, rhubarb, pumpkins, raspberries, garlic, beetroot, gooseberries and blackberries seem to be holding their own. It's mainly weeding, watering and planting at the moment and that is probably one of my favourite times.
I hope you are all having as much enjoyment out of your plots as I am,
Much love and happy digging
Tracey x
