Not all is lost…

a whole raised bed of cucumbers vanished overnight….I had sown them indoors…plenty TLC but as soon as I put them out in their designated bed they just disappeared….at the time I blamed it on the elements…too much rain soon after planting….sudden temperature drops…until today when I think I have found out the real culprit….we were digging the little trenches for the carrots seeds when I must have disturbed a red ants nest cause they were crawling all over me….I’m still itching a few hours later….so yeah…could it be that they had devoured my cucumbers? …sounds reasonable, don’t you think? …of course I have not sown the carrots and just left them to it until I find the best way of getting rid of them….time to turn to the experts at UK Here We Grow….they are a great bunch I tell you….but not all is lost my dear friends….I planted three cucumbers in the greenhouse and one of them is bearing fruits!!!! Hallelujah……Alhamdulilah….see the beauties in the pic? won’t be enough to pickle but enough to add to a few salad….insh’Allah

Edit—-The experts have responded and they agree with my suspicions of the red ants eating my crops……Also they have come up with a solution !!!! Make your own ant traps.
Mix 1 part icing sugar with 1 part bicarbonate of soda/baking powder to a thin paste in warm water.
Once cool, lay trails of it across the ants’ paths.
Does the same as the poison, they eat, then take it to the nest, where they all feast on it, then get bloated and go “pop”!

 

Also remember me telling you about the sad state of the aubergines? It was, according to the experts at the fb forum, a case of over watering…so  I now only watter every three days and not as much as before and things are slowly improving…and one of the plants is bearing fruits!!!!! Hallelujah….Alhamudilah….

I don’t feel as bad now….part of the learning process but still I felt so responsible…..

Wishing you all a relaxed end to the weekend and a productive week…

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

Is it too late?

Have I killed them off? Do they still stand a chance? They say too much love can kill too and I can honestly say that whichever the fate of my aubergine plants happens to be I have loved them from the minute I sowed them to the first flowers and all the bits in between…..How  was I supposed to know that they are tropical plants and they don’t need watering everyday?….it wasn’t until I shared my concern for my plants on the fb gardening group (uk here we grow, best experts ever) that I learnt that the cause of their demise might be  my over watering …it started with droopy leaves, browning and yellowing……anyways I have stopped watering them ….second day of no water today and we shall see what happens….Ali ,one of the experts says that she waters hers every three days and she is in sunny southern Spain!!!!  ok…time to stop torturing myself and put it down to learning experience…what else can I do?

Hopefully not all is lost….insh’Allah , we still get to enjoy a few homegrown aubergines….

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines