Grand Opening ~ Slug Bar & Grill

It's been a beautiful day here at the cabin. We've been blessed with a few warm sunny days lately and the garden is beginning to show some improvement. The property is on a steep side-hill butted up tight to the western side of the mountain. This means that we don't actually see the sun until about noon each day. Given our location, most people would probably think we're crazy to try to grow an extensive garden here. We do side-hill planting, grow open-pollinated seeds, use organic fertilizer, and the only pesticide is me with a pair of rubber gloves and a bucket of soapy water. Our herbicide consist of a good hoe. Growing food here is very labor intensive. If I were working out, my only "gardening" would probably be at the grocery store. But since my illness, my life is at home and my pace is a little slow. This gives me time to learn and experiment. I really enjoy the challenge. The Scriptures tell us that if we are faithful in a few things, God will give us charge over many things. My hope & prayer is to one day have a small farm with all the craziness that goes with it.

Back to the garden. I have been reading and hearing others talk about how to deal with my slug problem. With all the rain we've gotten this summer, the slugs are out of control. Our landlords won't allow chickens or ducks, (my first choice), but recommended beer. I have been slow to try that approach because I couldn't bring myself to reward the little buggers for all the damage and aggravation they've caused. But, I've gotten to the point where I'm ready to try just about anything. I dug a shallow hole in what used to be my bean patch and put in an old plastic meat tray. The tray is a little bit sloped, (kind of like an in-ground swimming pool), and then I poured in the beer, covered it to keep the rain off, and waited. This morning when I checked it there was one very large slug on the high side of the tray sipping the brew. I was under the impression that the system worked because the slug would go to take a drink and 'fall into' the beer. I just shook my head, muttered something about rewarding bad behavior, and decided to check back later. This evening Bear and I went back to the bean patch to look again. I found the original slug had literally drank his way to the bottom of the deep end and had drowned. As it so happened, so did two of his closest friends, with more on the way. So, the official "Slug Bar and Grill" is now a permanent fixture in my gardens and there will be franchises opening very soon. It's not a very fast approach to ridding the garden of pests, but it's interesting to observe. Plus, there may be a lesson in all of this somewhere.

It's bedtime. Have a blessed night.