Screaming Slugs

John dug up most of our plants that were played out and started phase one of the bug-killing plan. He was delighted to find out that slugs roll up and turn white when they are burned. That gargantuan plant next to John is brussel sprouts. When our daughter was four her favorite food was brussel sprouts. Seriously. One day I was at the grocery store and she was begging for me to buy some and I said, "Not today." A man was standing next to us, jaw gaping, and said he had never heard such a conversation before in his life.

So that summer she decided to start her own little garden box and grow her own brussel sprouts. We hadn't ever grown them before. The plants grew quite large and she tended them all by herself, watering and weeding her 4 plants. We kept waiting to see bunches of brussel sprouts showing up like broccoli out of the top of the plant. Finally in late September we said, "Sorry, it looks like the sprouts aren't going to grow." John yanked the plants out of the dirt and when he threw them down he noticed that the sprouts grew all up the stalk. We had no idea. Now we've perfected the art of growing huge brussel sprout plants and she doesn't have to beg at the grocery for them anymore.