Snapshots from nature

Perhaps it's because it's such a beautiful time of year, with the countryside so lush and full of life, but, just recently, on my daily dog walks I've been snapping away with my camera at things that have caught my eye. Sometimes it's a plant or a particular view, other times it's just the clouds blowing across the sky or the way the sunlight catches the grasses. The beauty of nature never ceases to amaze me...

Wild Dog Roses

Hog Weed, much prettier than the name suggests

Silvery grass against a stormy sky

Hog Weed seed heads

Meadow

Just grass and sky

Under attack!

My young vegetable plants have come under attack from a slimy old adversary; the slug.

A few weeks ago I planted out several Butternut Squash and Courgette plants, and two different types of beans, all of which I’d grown from seed. Just a few nights later, the slugs munched their way through the lot. Thankfully, I had a few spare plants left over, so I re-planted and have since take steps to protect them.

Dealing with slugs poses a real dilemma for the organic gardener. For me, using highly toxic slug pellets to kill these insatiable little pests is not an option. Aside from the fact that I have dogs, a cat and chickens in my garden, pellets also pose a threat to birds, hedgehogs and other wildlife. Plus, I’m opposed to the idea of using chemicals in my garden and determined to work with nature, rather than against it.

So, how best to tackle the problem? In the past I’ve tried all kinds of supposed solutions, from spreading used filter coffee and crushed egg shells around the base of my plants (disappointingly ineffective) to creating slug traps filled with beer (a waste of beer!) to lure slugs to their (highly alcoholic) death.

Reels of copper tape, available from garden centres, work well around the base of individual plant pots, but it would be very costly to put the tape all the way around the vegetable patch.



Copper tape around a pot containing young Courgette plants.

 Last year, I bought packs of Nematodes (roundworm) from a gardening website. You water these naturally-occurring, microscopic organisms into the soil and they kill off the slugs. Whilst this method did seem effective, it proved a rather expensive solution as you have to re-apply Nematodes to areas blighted by slugs several times during the growing season.

This year, for the time being at least, I’m using a combination of copper tape around my pots and Fito Slug Stoppa granules to create a barrier around the base of my vulnerable young plants. This has helped to keep the nasty little critters at bay so far, but every morning I check to make sure the barricade around each plant has not been breached.

I’ve also resorted to hand-picking slugs from the garden by torchlight and storing them in a box overnight before feeding them to my chickens for breakfast the next day.

Fito Slug Stoppa granules create a barrier around the base of plants.

I’m doing my best to encourage hedgehogs and birds to visit the garden and also considering introducing a small area of water in the hope of attracting frogs and toads – all of these creatures are natural predators of slugs and keep the population under control. In an ideal world, my chickens would free range over the entire garden devouring slugs as they went, but, the trouble is, that they’d also feast on my young vegetable plants too. I’m told that ducks pack away more than their fair share of slugs, but I’ve yet to convince my husband, Jonny, to add a couple of ducks to our menagerie; never say never!

Auntie Elsie’s Elderflower Cordial

With its heady scent and frothy cream-coloured blooms, the flowering of the Elder tree is considered by many to signal the start of summer.

If the appearance of Elderflowers is a reminder of the changing seasons, then those who have tried recipes made using the flowerheads will no doubt associate their deliciously fragrant flavour with the British summertime too.

While the Elderberries that form later in the season are often collected in the autumn to make wine and jam, many people overlook the Elderflowers. Yet, they were once prized as an ingredient in a wide range of recipes, as well as for their medicinal properties.

At one time, it was even thought that the Elder, a native of the British Isles, had magical properties and could ward off evil spirits.

Elder trees grow in abundance throughout the hedgerows and woodlands of Yorkshire, and they’re just starting to come into flower.

If you want to try using the flower heads as an ingredient, then this cordial recipe is a great place to start. It’s a family favourite given to me several years ago by my Auntie Elsie.

The flower heads are at their best when picked on a warm, dry day, when they’re in full bloom and laden with pollen. Try to avoid picking them from alongside busy roads, where they will be dirty and tainted with pollution from passing cars.

Although you may feel the need to wash the flower heads, it’s actually better not to. A good shake to get rid of any little insects is enough.

Ingredients

25 Elderflower heads

3lb caster sugar

2oz citric acid (available from some chemists and shops or websites selling jam-making equipment)

Two sliced lemons

2 and-a-half pints of boiling water

Method

Tip the sugar into a large bowl and add the boiling water, then leave to cool. Add the other ingredients and press the Elderflower heads firmly into the liquid. Cover the bowl and leave it for 48 hours, giving it a good stir from time to time.

Strain the cordial and bottle it. It can be stored for several months.

When diluted with water, this cordial is delicious served chilled over ice with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint. It can also be frozen to a slush to make a refreshing sorbet or even used with gin as an alternative mixer.

And here's this year's batch, made at the weekend with the help of my God daughter, Jodie: