Damp Squib

 

They don’t move very fast but catching all the slugs and snails is a real challenge!

I’ve been expecting a thunder storm all week but as yet nothing has happened.  It sounds very domesticated of me but the high humidity means that nothing is drying.  We can hang the clothes up on the line or in the house but they just sit there, damp and dreary.  It’s too warm to light a fire or put the heating on but I doubt that will make the slightest bit of difference. It’s like living in a bathroom with the hot shower constantly running. 

I’m also getting reports from disgruntled gardeners who are saying that this time they had lush wildflower gardens or heaps of broccoli flowering, but this year the plants just are not growing.  Not everything in the garden is at a standstill or growing slowly though. There are some things that would like the humid, damp conditions to last forever, namely slugs, snails, and fungal growth. Blight has been a bit of a problem and so have things like liverwort that quickly multiply on the soil which prevents water from getting to the plants.

 We have also been greeted at the front door by as many as twenty snails and some have even been trying to get into the letterbox.  I don’t mind so much as long as they are not munching the veggies. There are some plants that seem to be unaffected by the dampness, peas and beans are really growing well and my precious bedding plants seem to be thriving as does the grass. I have had no need to water them ever since they were planted three weeks ago!

Poetry Corner

The standard of poems was so high in the competition that I thought we could enjoy another great ditty from H.V. Mackey, Muff.

My Garden

With the radio on, I was lying in bed

When ‘Grow it Yourself’ infiltrated my head

And those three words sparked an altercation

So from bed I hopped, ready for action.

Now my garden plot was full of weeds

Where should I begin to sow my seeds?

I’d need a spade, fork, rake and hoe

Perhaps to the CO-OP I should go.

And their expertise fuelled my ambition

As I was a gardener bound on a mission

I bought peas, shallots, sets, plants and seeds

Along with all my other needs.

Once back at home, I got really busy

With nice steady rhythm – no need for a ‘Tizzy’

And by setting-sun the weeds had gone

I’d a nice clear plot as smooth as a lawn.

Next day I started to plant my plot

And had rows, drills and beds – indeed quite a lot

I was stiff and sore by my GIY start

Sun and rain could now play its part.

Quite soon green shoots began to appear

Slugs and snails now wanted here

Daily I pick, poke and view

This garden plot is no longer rue.

A gardening book is what I now need

To survey and study whilst waiting crop yield

‘Cause there’s so much more I need to know

And so much more I’ve GOT to grow!

Next year I hope to become a dab- hand

At getting maximum yield from my land

Raised beds, polytunnels, there’s so much to try

And I’ll feast like a king from what pleases the eye.

A copy of my e-book is on its way!