ADAM AGAIN

My humble lettuce patch

(with the deadly slug trap at centre!)

.

BACK TO THE GARDEN

.

In light of our changing economic climate more and more people are re-discovering the joys of tilling the good earth and growing their own vegetables. Ever one to follow a populist trend I have made a small start in this cultivation revival by transforming a flower bed at the back of my house into a patch for lettuces, onions, parsley and chives. I know this sounds impressive but the on-the-ground reality is truly a humble beginning and is more a pledge of what is to come than a huge statement in itself. To be honest, about six weeks elapsed from buying the plants at the local garden centre to getting them into the ground, and leaving them outside my door ,I thought it better to plant them before the postman did ! The dozen or so plants are secured from slug attacks by (pet friendly) pellets and an ingeniously simple ‘trap’ that lures the pests to an inebriated demise in a pool of beer. (a desired end for many non-slug drinkers I know !) For the record I have found that Miller (which also happens to be my own beer of choice !) is an effective inducement to my slimy attackers while shandy is entirely useless. Even armed with such sophisticated weaponry , I have found to my horror, that already the frail leaves of my immature lettuce plants are dotted with bite-size holes from the resilient slugs. Someone has suggested casting a net over the proceedings to protect them but that sounds a bit technical and I will only try it as a last resort. If there are any experienced gardeners out there who would like to share their expertise with me, I would be delighted to hear from them. My future plans include tackling the ‘big’ front garden to sow potatoes and carrots and maybe even broccoli, of course there is the no small matter of ‘digging’ and then the maintenance work of ‘weeding’ to attend to, but all in good time and with a fair wind at my back ! I remember in years past my mother used to keep a decent vegetable garden at Ardhu and in the dim distant days of my childhood she had a ‘run’ out in the front with chickens! I can’t see myself getting into poultry in the near future but who knows ! My mother was blessed with green fingers and everything she put her hand to flourished, I remember thick rusty stalks of rhubarb, large succulent marrows and rich green leaves of cabbage as well as potatoes and onions all thriving under her careful eye. Hopefully there has been a genetic transference of her earthy skills and these hands will yet reap a bountiful harvest from my gardening endeavours, as they say ,time will tell…

.

Gerard O'Shea

g.