Slug Chaos - My Garden Podcast
Season 2: Episode 7Gardening podcast slugs. Penny is on slug patrol with her overwintered canna plants. Her naughty dog Joey gets involved with hilarious consequences.
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Gardening podcast slugs - Transcript
So this green bin is our local councils. Brilliant way of being a bit greener. We are going to be using this today so I'm bringing it up to the greenhouse. It's a long drag up the garden, to be honest, but it gets collected next Tuesday.
I'm keen to get rid of a bit of a problem I've noticed. Normally, when you plant something, you perhaps have spare compost. It's kind of spent, isn't it?
Oh, my god. Look at that a bee! It's stuck in the greenhouse. Quick, quick. Let's get the windows open. bee rescue! The bee has been saved.
Anyway, back to business. The green bin has been brought up to the greenhouse area because I need to investigate some serious soil problems. Normally, when you get rid of a thing out of a pot, you've got some compost leftover. You might think about reusing it for something else. But quite often you just sling it in the compost heap.
This compost is full of slug eggs
But this compost needs to be jettisoned out of my life and out of my garden because it's riddled with those yellow slug balls with embryonic slug things in them.
We've got dahlias, we've got cannas and something else. I can't remember what it is! So I'm gonna have a little look and see what's happening in these pots. The Kanas aren't ready to go in the ground yet, but if I wait any longer, we're gonna have a slug problem.
I wait any longer, we're gonna have a slug problem.
Shake out the pot, just give it a little look. Really nice warm soil. Wow, I would be a happy canna if I was in there. I have to say most of it is all right, but occasionally and a bit too regularly for my liking are these yellow slug eggs.
Here we go, Slug eggs
That's the word I'm looking for. Can you hear this? I'm gonna pop it. Uh, that was disgusting. It squirted back on my hand. That's vile, absolutely vile. There are loads underneath. So if you lift the root-ball out. The roots haven't really done much this winter. And far enough they didn't have to. I'll give that a good shake. See if any slugs have got in there.
Underneath is where the action's been taking place for some mummy slug.
It's been getting rid of her eggs. No! It isn't fascinating the mating cycle of a slug. Look at them! See if we can hear this (Pop.) I think it's hit the microphone. It's quite a lot of fun actually, it's like squeezing a spot. It's got really juicy.
So I think the council can take away this slug problem for me
A bit of crockpot stuck in there and actually what I'm inclined to do, it's a bit paranoid. I'll maybe give these pots are really good, clean as well, because actually, as well as the slug stuff. There are these little black flies, which have come about because the soil is moist and warm so they're a bit of a pest as well. They're not a serious problem to have, but they are a pain when they're indoors on house plants because they just sort of like fruit flies and hover around a lot.
This is a bit of a scrappy bit of Canna. What's going on here? Why isn't it? Why isn't it growing yet? Maybe it's just not time not ready. String roots, really delicate. And these bulbs of Canna are almost like an onion, a little onion that's about to start growing again. So I'll get a collection of those, and I think I'll just nest them temporarily in a big pot. It's good to know what's happening below the surface plant-wise and human brain-wise.
There's a massive one I'm not gonna pop it, am I? Oh, go on. What was going on below the surface for me earlier this week? It was a bit of "envie", a French word. That means I can't be bothered basically. I just can't be bothered with life this week. I just felt a bit flat. You're just not very motivated. It came on over the long weekend because I had a chance to rest and not do much over Easter.
In the western world, business comes to a bit of a slowdown. A lot of Children are on holidays. The parents are taking time off his well, and I realised it was because I hadn't really spoken to anyone. I'm motivated when I'm interacting with people, I become alive. You know, I'm joyful.
There I am, saving plants from slugs, I didn't think about dog Jaws.
Oh, no. Joey (the dog) has run off with my Canna plant. I hope that's not poisonous! Right, distraction technique required urgently, that's a bad dog! I hadn't even thought of that. Had I off. I gotta treat a little gravy bone for Joey. He knows that the Canna is a valuable item in his mouth right now. He's got guilty wag again. There's a low wag he's run off!
It's interrupting a really poignant moment in my story as well, about the need to interact with humanity! He just thinks it's a game. Maybe if I go to the greenhouse he will follow me? No, it's not worked. This is where it gets embarrassing with the dog. I'm embarrassed right now in front of you because I have no control over getting the beast back on retrieving my canna plant at the same time. Oh, here we go he's has dropped it over there quick. Right? Okay. Right. Got it. That's the lesson, isn't it? There I am, saving plants from slugs, I didn't think about dog Jaws.
Anyway, Wednesday night I got invited to to take part in a business book club. Wow, that sounds cool and the fact that I'd written a business book was why I was being asked. It was like a massive ego pump. It was an indulgence, an exciting, indulgent authors moment. I don't really get those very often with about 12 people going, "I really like the chapter on this, I really like the way you put this across." I'm like, "really sorry. I didn't quite catch that. Do tell me again!" Everyone was really lovely. Everyone's read my book.
Okay. I wish this was on video because right now, in a comedy manner dog has gone "right if you won't let me have the canna, I'm going to run away with this really long, Bamboo cane!"
So you know what? After that interaction with those lovely people at the business book club after a bit of a social time. I just felt perked up, simple as that. Had I not had it, I maybe would have had another day feeling slightly introspective.
I've done my slug patrol
I have dealt with what could have been a really big problem over the coming months had I not spotted it.
I don't think baby slugs are easy to find unless you're out with a torch late at night and they're eating your leaves. Yellow slug eggs sort of leap out at you. I'm going these plants in the ground later on. I'm gonna bury them for now, in the bit of soil and pop them back in the greenhouse just to keep warm and keep going. I feel like I've done my best work with slug patrol in them. I'm back on track.