Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Greenish thumb

I've gardened more this spring than I have in the past 39 years combined. I even have tendonitis in my wrist to show for it. Everything around the house is looking pretty good, and the vegetable garden is even thriving. I had a fantasy of growing my own organic vegetables and was feeling pretty smug about my carbon footprint (ignore the fact that we have an enormous SUV, we hardly ever use it anymore, anyway). Here's the thing about growing your own food that I hadn't counted on. There is a lot of dirt and creatures involved. And the vegetables have slug holes and unidentified spots on them. In the grocery store, everything is plump and beautiful and clean. Now, logically, I know that taking a bite of a chemically treated piece of lettuce is worse for you then an organically grown one, but, like, there's holes in it, where a slug was slithering accross it. Ew. So, I scrub and cut around the holes and curse this crunchy lifestyle. I've gotten really good at lobbing slugs way out into the woods, though. Just wait until I start complaining about eggs that come out of poopy chicken butts.
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7 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:21 PM

    Save your egg shells, break into smaller pieces and sprinkle into the garden. Slugs don't like to crawl on them. Might help some:)

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  2. Kate2:33 PM

    Thanks. I was also just reading that mussel shells work well, too. But, ouch on my knees!

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  3. Anonymous4:57 PM

    Nothing tastes better than a carrot freshly-yanked from the earth and washed with the garden hose.

    Also, my great aunt Betty once ate a lettuce leaf from the family garden and bit clean through the slug hiding on the underside.

    Yummers.

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  4. Kate5:08 PM

    Thanks, Doug. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

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  5. Anonymous9:35 PM

    Hi Kate:

    Keep in mind at least the slugs and chicken butts are, hopefully, organic. That may make you feel a bit better about them.

    Cheers, Donna

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  6. Jessi10:05 PM

    I read somewhere, a long time ago so you might want to research it, that if you line the border of your garden with a strip of copper, the slugs won't slither over it.
    I love reading your blog. Good luck with the slugs!

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  7. Jennifer10:11 AM

    Two words for you:
    Diatomaceous Earth

    Slugs can't slide across it, it cuts up their little bellies. I used to use it in our garden in Seattle and it worked brilliantly!

    ReplyDelete

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