Putting snails to use!

Hello all and hope you had some time in the garden! As you might recall I have been growing some Sunflowers from seed, I had hoped I would get enough to share with friends however after planting the first lot out the front I see the snails have been busy and pretty much eaten 3/4's of the leaves and completely ruined many of them. I decided it was war and have been out at all hours collecting snails popping them in a pot and after wondering what the heck I was going to do with them and getting rather a large collection I decided maybe just maybe the chooks would like them.

They went mad for them the first day but I did notice they coped ok with the small baby ones but the large mumma's not so good so I am now having a snail crushing session each day I do this in the chicken pen it's totally against my animal ethos to be crushing something live but I figure it's recycling and that has to be good! It's also somewhat remedial to the mind almost therapeutic in fact to crush a few snails daily......
Something I was excited about whilst looking for the snails was a little frog hiding under a plant I took a picture of him in in situ and on the letter box see if you can spot him in the ground pic he's quiet well hidden.

Ok back on track the Zucchini is SO ready to be planted it's huge but the moon has just moved into the gardening phase of resting so I cannot plant for about another week - I like to use the moon gardening cycle planting guide so will just wait it will be enormous by then.

We have many, many Broccoli florets and oh boy will I need to think of some uses for cooking it! Maybe LOADS of stir frys! Soup?? Not sure but the crop is bountiful this year!

Have about another 3 weeks and then I would like to plant the corn I have grown from seed and looks like I should have a good 20 plants to grow this year, it's sprouting and looking very healthy.

I have tons of Lemon Balm too growing all over the place (Melissa) this herb is traditionally used for stress - oh how appropriate right now! You make a tea from it so I have certainly been using that a lot of late! Very calming at night and way better than my normal choice of coffee.

Spring Gardening

I have been busy over the school holidays in the garden weeding the veggie beds and the entire rest of the garden. I have a cottage garden at the front of my place and over Winter I planted a ton of Daffodils, a little late really but most have done their best to get their little shoots up and flowering for me and with the Freshia's, Jasmine and Lilac bushes out (we have 3) it has just been a delight to be in the garden with the mild weather and lovely flowery perfumes.

I have weeded the Lemon and Lime fruit trees, added some rabbit manure to the bases and then some pea straw I had in the shed for some nitrogen and as a weed suppressor. Have planted some Zucchini in the greenhouse and also some Sunflowers they will be great to attract the bees and hopefully look awesome too. I have included the 3 step process in the pictures of weeded/rabbits manure added and then finally pea straw on my Lime tree.

My tubs of Potato's are doing well and starting too shoot madly and I cannot wait to see how many I will get out of the 3 barrels. Over the last few days my youngest son got involved in the gardening too and planted about 20 seeds of sweet corn into the greenhouse, we don't as yet have a bed for them so hopefully by the time they are ready to plant the Broccoli or Pak Choy will be finished.

I have a massive bumper crop of White Radishes too, and I really don't like them so they are being given to neighbours by the truckload, It's a shame the things I really grow well are the ones I really don't like that much! Not too worry we have a ton of Broccoli coming up and this year I planted loads, the rabbits can eat the leaves and we really do use the vegetable a lot.

I had a little area out the front that I used last year for some Sweet pea's, I think the soil will have lots of added Nitrogen from that and so I brought 2 punnets of Strawberries and planted them there with the hope of getting some nice fruit in Summer. Also put some more Sweet Pea seeds at the back of the Strawberries.

I have just previewed this post and see the photo's are all over the place! Sorry about that I have no idea how to change it!