Gastropod sounds like a boutique gourmet lunch spot, which is how snails seem to view my young sunflower. Grr.
Nick gave me the hardy-looking seedling last week to add to my urban, mainly paved, garden. Being a complete novice, my garden contained a grand total of four plants:
Nick gave me the hardy-looking seedling last week to add to my urban, mainly paved, garden. Being a complete novice, my garden contained a grand total of four plants:
1. a new honeysuckle (courtesy of Homebase)
2. ivy
3. those purple-flowing plants that grow out of walls
4. some kind of laurel-type plant left by the previous inhabitant of my tiny flat.
So I was delighted to get a newcomer.
I lovingly transferred the sunflower seedling to a bigger pot, added compost, watered, and set it in the sunniest part of my basement garden to watch it grow. I even considered measuring it every day, but had to have a word with myself at that point.
Last night was beautifully balmy - summer has definitely arrived in NW6. Stepping out of my backdoor in the twilight I just about avoided skidding on a large brown slug. Looking down I saw my garden's resident toad crossly creeping back to his log, hungry no doubt. My clodding great feet had just interrupted his slug patrol. Damn.
I spent the next 5 minutes picking up the slimy buggers and throwing them in to the neighbour's garden, holding back the urge to run away. Slugs make me feel wierd. By the way, before you go thinking how antisocial I am, the neighbour is an office and their garden is entirely paved with no plants whatsoever.
After ridding the paving stones of as many slimy friends as I could find, I looked up at my sunflower, calmy resting on its ledge.
Hang on.
Even in the gloom I could see a dark patch under its crown of bright green new foliage....
As I pulled the snail off, rudely interrupting its meal, it gave a crunching sort of slurp, and left behind a delightful trail of slime. Yuk.
I've now put coffee grinds in the sunflower's pot, which hopefully will poison the snails/slugs and not the flower. Any other suggestions?
So I was delighted to get a newcomer.
I lovingly transferred the sunflower seedling to a bigger pot, added compost, watered, and set it in the sunniest part of my basement garden to watch it grow. I even considered measuring it every day, but had to have a word with myself at that point.
Last night was beautifully balmy - summer has definitely arrived in NW6. Stepping out of my backdoor in the twilight I just about avoided skidding on a large brown slug. Looking down I saw my garden's resident toad crossly creeping back to his log, hungry no doubt. My clodding great feet had just interrupted his slug patrol. Damn.
I spent the next 5 minutes picking up the slimy buggers and throwing them in to the neighbour's garden, holding back the urge to run away. Slugs make me feel wierd. By the way, before you go thinking how antisocial I am, the neighbour is an office and their garden is entirely paved with no plants whatsoever.
After ridding the paving stones of as many slimy friends as I could find, I looked up at my sunflower, calmy resting on its ledge.
Hang on.
Even in the gloom I could see a dark patch under its crown of bright green new foliage....
As I pulled the snail off, rudely interrupting its meal, it gave a crunching sort of slurp, and left behind a delightful trail of slime. Yuk.
I've now put coffee grinds in the sunflower's pot, which hopefully will poison the snails/slugs and not the flower. Any other suggestions?
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