Going a bit tropo - Melbourne style

After a cool start in the first week of November, it's been very warm and wet of late - perfect conditions for getting the veggie patch going. The tomatoes are coming along nicely and pretty much everything has been planted. Of course this has also meant turbo growth conditions for weeds as well as bringing out lots of slugs and snails. Just got to keep pulling those weeds and the 'beer traps' have been dispatching the slimy critters.

I find the beer trap is a rather effective and safe way of protecting seedlings without resorting to snail bait. I shudder at the thought of one of the cats eating some poisonous pellets and there's the potential effect on birds eating a snail or slug that's taken some bait. I wouldn't want to hurt the magpies and kookaburras that visit our garden as they do a good job of picking off pests during the day.

To make a beer trap simply cut a slot big enough for a snail to get through into a plastic container with a lid. Takeaway and ice cream containers are ideal. Simply pour some beer into the container, put the lid on and set it partially into the ground in the veggie patch. Slugs in particular love beer, they get into the container and drown. Some of my traps have been regularly catching a dozen slugs per evening.

After a pause in the early afternoon the clouds have drifted into the gully and its raining again. It brings to mind images of places like the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Summer is almost here. It's been a great start to the season and I'm optimistic of a bountiful harvest.

Dwarf  beans have taken advantage of the warm and wet conditions - they were poking out of the ground just five days after sowing.

Cheers.