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Is it safe to eat snail damaged veg?

kursha_woodgatekursha_woodgate Posts: 2
in Fruit & veg
I am a novice vegetable grower and have a good crop of lettuce, kale, carrots, courgettes and squash on the go. I am concerned about whether it is safe to eat veg with slug and snail damage. I found a baby snail in the lettuce this morning (and there are holes which I assume are damage from something). Obviously I have washed all produce before eating but is it safe? I am not using any pesticides.

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Yes
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Welcome to the Forum.
    Make sure you remove the slugs and snail first. ;)
    Devon.
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    Yes, especially if you don't use pesticides (and you don't garden next to a nuclear power plant etc!). Make sure it's washed thoroughly, leave it soaking in lightly salted water for an hour or 2 and most bugs will float to the surface. 

    Snail slime is a bit more difficult to get off, so maybe discard the outer leaves etc. 
  • kursha_woodgatekursha_woodgate Posts: 2
    Of course 😊
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Years ago, before farmers sprayed every living thing in sight,  you would buy a lettuce, full of greenfly and a couple of slugs, my mum would just wash and wash until they were all off.
    Today, if I buy a lettuce with a greenfly or anything in it I’m highly delighted.
    My OH knew a lettuce producer,  sprayed 10 times in as many weeks.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    If you have any French connections you may wish to leave the snails on the lettuce?

    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • YviestevieYviestevie Posts: 7,066
    It's a pity our dinner ladies didn't follow your mum's guidance @Lyn I remember finding crawlies etc in my salad at school and I'm still here
    Hi from Kingswinford in the West Midlands
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'm sure I've eaten the odd thing in among my lettuce over the years. Nice and crunchy....:D
    The big snails hide in the rocket during the day - I just rinse everything. Far better than the chlorine covered stuff as @Lyn describes  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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