I'm up to my eyeballs in salad, and I think the slugs are enjoying it as much as I am! It's my first year having slugs, and what a bummer. A few weeks ago I finally resorted to putting cups of beer in my covered beds and they disgustingly filled quite quickly. I also did rounds of the garden the in the evenings to squish any munchers. Their numbers plummeted with about 2 weeks of mild diligence. And I can't help but wonder if the chickens get a little tuned up when they eat those dozens and dozens of Rainier-bloated slugs. It's great protein for them nonetheless!
Now that summer has come and gone I thought I'd give a little report on some successes for the season:
Everything wild! Having natural landscaping really fills things in when it's a wet year!
Sorrel - cut and come again like you wouldn't believe! great for salad, soup, and even ice cream!
All types of lettuce (I love red oakleaf!)
Mesclun mix - I got lots of arugula early on then great greens of various colors and textures later. Planted April 11 in hoop house and still going strong.
Cascadia snap peas - sturdy, short-vined variety that loved being out in the rain! Prolific, great tasting, eat-the-pod-and-all peas for salad. The sugar snap peas did well also, and they even out climbed their 8 foot tall trellis!
Nantes half-long carrots - Planted April 11 under hoops and they're ~3 inches long, thick, and DELICIOUS now.
Borrage - what a beautiful plant! Huge stems and leaves and lots of dainty blue flowers. Next year I'll try pinching some so they grow bushier. |
| Comfrey leaves |
Comfrey - I got a little bag of root pieces in the spring, and now I have a patch 3 feet wide, 6 feet long, and 4 feet high! AND it's growing where nothing else would grow! I plan on using it for chicken feed next year.
Herbs - everything except basil and cilantro (both of which I seeded) is outstanding and overgrown. I can't say enough about Don Abel's herb starts! From them I got rosemary, Vietnamese coriander, golden oregano, silver posie thyme, golden thyme, Berggarten sage, golden delicious pineapple sage, and tangerine sage. My oregano patch that overwintered from last year has spread quite a bit, and I've seeded it elsewhere in the garden simply for ground cover. It's done the best in beds/pots with over a foot of soil.
Kale - I couldn't live without it! I planted three varieties this year and will plant them all again.
- Red Russian is the most tender and is best for salads. The patch outside has done slightly better than the one in a hoop house.
- Tuscano is great for cooking (stir-frys and burritos) It sprouted the earliest of all the kales and is still around, though some are going to seed. I planted it in a covered bed April 15. Slugs don't touch it.
- Dwarf curled leaf is great for cooking and kale chips.
