"Sprouts and Slugs "
“For when the garden doesn’t grow according to plan” No two plants are the same and if your tomato plants are stragglier than the ones in the picture on your seed packet, then so be it. As long as they are healthy what difference does it make how the plants look?   Some years ago I decided to grow sprouts, especially for Christmas dinner, but in France the winters don’t always get cold enough for them to develop into the hard sprouts we know and love (?!) This particular year, the plants were great but the sprouts had all grown like very small dark green lettuces. They weren’t sprout-shaped but they looked cute!When the children saw them on their plates, they were suspicious and, as it’s obligatory to hate sprouts when you’re a kid, I told them it was spinach. It worked. I kept this up for weeks until one bright spark stared at their dinner one night and demanded to know where exactly in the garden I was growing spinach…. Oh well, at least none of the sprouts, that weren’t quite sprouts, got wasted! ************************************ Sprouts and slugs in the right order! Thompson and Morgan are online award winning suppliers of seeds and other products and they have some great pictures to drool over!
The UK growing season can be very short and outdoor grown tomatoes don’t always ripen. Rather than being left with so many green tomatoes that you feel obliged to make chutney, nip the top off the plant after it has produced three or four trusses. The plant will put it’s energy into the development of fewer tomatoes but they are more likely to ripen.
Enjoy what grows and even if the fruits or vegetables don’t crop well, they will produce plants that are good to look at. Adverse weather conditions, poor seed quality, bugs and viruses are all possible disaster themes for a vegetable garden, but there are lots of ways to protect your plants. Experiment with old fashioned slug and snail deterrents. A bowl of beer sunk into the ground close to your young plants will attract the slugs that would otherwise devour a whole line of lettuces in one sitting. Slugs are natural born drunks and will happily drown in the beer, rather than eat your plants! Try dotting tomato plants around the garden rather than growing them all in a line, then if a virus attacks, it won’t spread to your other plants as quickly, if at all. Plant strong smelling herbs among your vegetable crops. The strong scent deters bugs and the herbs can be picked when you collect your veg. Make or buy a cloche or clear plastic tunnel that can be placed over your small plants at night in the early part of the year to protect them from the cold especially frost damage. One cold night can wipe out your entire crop as quickly as a sober slug can. Give your crops the best possible start by positioning them well. Check on the seed packets for manufacturer’s growing recommendations before you start. Keep an eye on your garden so that you can catch any potential disasters before they happen. A little TLC goes a long way to producing the best possible food for your family. Sprouts and slugs in the right doses works wonders! Happy Gardening! Grow Your Own Winter Food: A good diet incorporating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables is a must if you want to stay fit and healthy and keep the bugs at bay during the cold winter months. Growing your own winter food is just one way of ensuring you get the freshest, tastiest produce packed with goodness straight from the garden to the kitchen table. This easy-to-follow self-sufficiency book shows you how to grow your own fruit and vegetables for winter use and includes facts on each fruit, vegetable or herb as well as nutritional value, recipe ideas and storage suggestions.  Grow Your Own Winter Food is perfect for those with limited gardening experience, with gardens big or small who are looking to become more self-sufficient. Order it now direct from the publisher... Grow Your Own Winter Food Grow It, Cook It!: Many crops, including herbs, can be produced in a relatively small space with a little pre-planning and organizing: in containers, on a balcony, and indoors. Herbs are perfect for enhancing the flavour of cooking, treating minor ailments, and preventing colds and flu. Your own back garden will not only produce the best food on the planet for you and your loved ones, it is also economical, environmentally friendly and more fun than shopping. Gardening is more than a hobby; it's a way of life. .  This book provides all the information you need to keep your family and friends healthy, fit and enjoying life to the full. Order it now direct from the publisher... Grow It, Cook It! Grow Your Own Pharmacy: If, like me, you want to be able to eat the best food on the planet, grow your own!  • Clear instructions on planning, planting, growing and harvesting the fruits, vegetables and herbs required for a healthy vitamin intake. • Recipes and menus to help incorporate the fruit and vegetables into your daily diet. Grow Your Own Pharmacy Herbs and Spices: Some herbs grow vigorously, some are tender and need special growing conditions, some are annuals, some perennials, some you can grow indoors, all can be grown in pots or directly into the ground. There are also certain spices, such as chillies, that can be grown in temperate climates.  This clear and concise directory of herbs and spices provides all the essential information to help you grow a selection of these flavour-enhancing foods in small or large spaces. Ideas for which herbs and spices go best with which foods also accompany each description, so that you can really enliven your repertoire of recipes. Order it now direct from the publisher... Herbs and Spices Granny's Book Of Good Old Fashioned Common Sense is packed full of great ideas and tips. Granny brings traditional home-making up to date with cooking, gardening, needlecrafts and even games to play with the kids...Click on the link below to order your copy.  Cooking doesn’t have to be a chore and preparing nourishing home cooked meals for the family will certainly keep them away from the goodie shelf. Gardening encourages physical exercise and a good healthy dollop of fresh air. And you can get the kids involved too. Before the days of computer games and electronic pets, children used to have fun without rummaging about in the fridge every five minutes. Enjoy a few rainy-day games and crafts of yesteryear with today’s kids. They’ll love it and so will you! Granny's Book Of Good Old Fashioned Common Sense Back To Gardening Back to Flower and Garden Tips Homepage Click here to subscribe to "Creative Gardening" - your FREE monthly ezine! http://www.flower-and-garden-tips.com/sproutsandslugs.html |
Peppers 
Corn 
Tomatoes
radish 
lettuce 
Carrots