A couple of months ago I was thinking about what I should do with my garden. I had a number of grand schemes but my darling husband said that I had to prove I was a responsible with the little bit of garden I had before he would 'allow' me to become a kiwi version of Percy Thrower.Not too ambitious
So I got out in the garden yesterday because it was such a beautiful day, and had a good old tidy up. I've planted some bedding plants, lettuce and parsley. And in the next couple of weeks I'm going to plant some potatoes, tomatoes and rhubarb. That should be enough to keep me out of mischief.
MemoriesThe fun thing about yesterday's gardening session was that the tools I used were given to me (by way of gift vouchers) by various women and families I have looked after over the years as a midwife. So I had a lovely afternoon communing with nature and reflecting on life as a midwife.
Now I have to concentrate on keeping the slugs and weeds at bay. Any tips on how I can protect the plants from slugs without harming my local hedgehogs?
10 comments:
Hi Sarah
It does look like a lovely day in your garden. I too enjoy gardening and I find this time of year a wonderful time to get in the garden. But then, in Australia it gets really really hot, and I don't want to be outside in the garden much -however there is more and more time required watering and stuff like that. My good intentions translate into sad, limp lettuces. It can be very disappointing. Having said all of that, I too spent the weekend in the garden and quite enjoyed the fresh air, a little sunshine and the dirt under my fingernails. In Australia we have that slug problem too - Aussies would use a beer trap to catch them and not harm all the other animals - i am sure you will find heaps of ideas on the internet. The idea is to bury a short jar in the dirt and half fill it with beer - the slugs slide in and can't get out. You do end up with a nasty jar of dead slug juice! Good luck and I am interested in hearing how you go.
Helen
Hey Sarah,
My personal blog's been getting a little eclectic lately with 3 main content areas - massage, internet, and creative commons music. I've been thinking about splitting them up into 2/3 blogs so that readers who are interested in 1 content area don't get overloaded & turned off by the other areas.
I notice that your blog is similar, so I'm wondering if you've ever thought about doing this, and if so what conclusions you came to?
@Helen thanks for the tip - I'll try that & see how I get on.
@David Umm...yes, I have thought about this. I am very conscious that I really have 3 blogs in one: midwifery, education & personal. I try to keep things fairly balanced, with a leaning toward education as opposed to 'straight' midwifery. There are a number of midwifery blogs out there so I don't feel I need to make mine completely midwifery. I do like to throw in the occasional personal posts to give people a glimpse into who I am as a person.
But truth be told, I cannot be bothered to keep separate blogs, so aim to keep going as it is. Hopefully, it doesn't bore one group of readers over another group.
What do you, the reader think? Do you think I should separate out the topics more, maybe in separate blogs?
Hi David and Sarah,
I am definately no expert in this, and I have only been blogging for about two weeks. I have been thinking about how to do it and I decided to start with separate blogs - so I have got one that I think other members of my family might be interested in - stuff we do on the weekends, around the house, that kind of thing. And when I can teach family members how to log in and comment it will work better. I also have a separate one with my reflections, and opinions that I thought they might be less interested in. I also thought other people who respond to my reflection comments might not care about my gardening adventures. But then again, I am very interested in reading the different aspects of Sarah's blog. Maybe there isn't a right and wrong answer, and both will work.
Helen
@David: Personally I like a balance. I like to see Sarah in the garden, I'm interested in her thoughts about midwifery, and I enjoy her adventure with social media.. It paints a whole picture. Lately I've been bringing a bit of my personal life into my pro blog. Dunno why really.. I just want to say there's more to my life that a geeky obsession with ed tech and politics.
In saying that, I do have 100 Somerville
More and more though, I wished I had kept them all together.
When I am reading a blog, I do like to read the occasional personal post because it 'humanizes' the writer.
As for this post, it sometimes surprises me the comments I get on the pregnancy/childbirth topics from my audience who are educators. I always enjoy those comments because they give yet another perspective other than a midwifery one to my thinking.
Hi Sarah - broken/crushed up egg shell around your plants can deter slugs and snails. The egg shells cut the bellies - mean but it works.
Thanks for that, Clare. That's not so cruel as putting them in salty water, which is what my mother used to do :)
I have "heard" slugs and snails don't like uneven surfaces hence not liking crushed eggshells. The other uneven surface they don't like sliding over that I have heard is pine needles... not tried it out myself but could be easier to source pine needles in the quantity that you need.
Good luck,
Mel (aka Moodlegirl)
Thanks Mel-I must get on and do it because the slugs have eaten half my bedding plants already, the rotters!
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