Honestly, this was too close a coincidence not to share with you all. A few days ago, the BBC aired the latest edition of a regular radio programme, ‘Sliced Bread’. Here is the link for those of you in the UK.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00237z6
The theme of the series is that listeners write in to ask whether the host, Greg Foot, could investigate whether a particular service or wonder product is the ‘Best Thing since Sliced Bread’ or is it just ‘B.S’.
I’m sure you can translate that…
Do these offerings, which promise to make you happier or lose weight or something similar, actually work? Recent episodes have covered float tanks; whether electrolytes in sports drinks hydrate better than plain water, are insulated coffee cups the best way to keep your drink warm and do foam rollers help recovery from exercise?
Greg consults scientists, active in the relevant field and others whose respected opinion or knowledge might illuminate the topic. It’s a light-hearted half hour of pleasant listening – a welcome relief from the heavy-duty stream of politics, war and misery which usually assails our ears.
This episode dealt with slug pellets. Can non-lethal repellents save our plants? You see why I couldn’t resist telling you.
To skip to the chase, all the testimony asserted that it would be best to select plants which are less susceptible to slugs and snail attack, and to start others off in a protected environment. The thinking is that if a plant is more advanced and healthy, it can withstand a bit of munching better than tender new shoots. But the only effective methods of slug control include modern slug pellets (which are not injurious to the microbiome of the soil), nematodes and simple physical removal by hand.
In this case, the listener was hoping to learn of a non-lethal means of directing the animals elsewhere. There isn’t one. The contributing scientist was keen to point out that introduction of nematodes is consistent with keeping plant growth ‘Organic’. Of course, prowling around one’s flower beds at dusk is also Organic. It may create a buzz of consternation among the neighbours and give rise to unwanted rumours, but it works - after a fashion – and satisfies Man’s Hunter / Gatherer urges. Well …kinda.
Ok, it’s not in the league of ’clubbing a woolly mammoth and dragging it back to the cave’, nor even of fetching in the weekly shop from the supermarket (‘They had a special offer on your favourite cereal, Dear’). But look: these days, a man has to have some outlet for his dwindling testosterone. And the neighbours have plenty of other reasons to consider me weird.
I leave you with that question begged and with a couple of images of my latest catches. I very much hope I’m not spoiling your Sunday meal!
