I was in Canada in '47, and it was a helluva winter there as well ! I brought back a parrot from W.Africa, (ebola free ) in '62, and it thrived in the snow ! Looked bloody ridiculous wearing snowshoes, but we all had a jolly good laugh at it's expense, AND lashings of lemonade !
This is probably going to wind you lot up no end, im really sorry if it does! I allowed my brassicas to be eaten by whatever wanted a go last year (once they were at a reasonable size) i just wanted you all to know, everything looked terrible for a few weeks at the height of the breeding season, but its all recovered, we had more cabbages than we could eat, some have been left in the ground as i had no use for them.
I have to say if you can put up with your veggies looking decimated for a few weeks, witout having to pull the lot out, this really is the easiest approach , it is really important however, to keep a decent space between the crops and hoe to keep competition down, i will defenately do this again
Apart from wildlife friendly slug pellets at time of planting veggie plugs I leave our veggies to their fate too and rely on birds to pick off the caterpillars. No spraying and no nets and regular hoeing.
However in the ornamental garden I do use the slug pellets round hostas and daylilies and daffs and clems. I start on Valentine's Day as it's an easy date to remember and just scatter a few of the organic pellets round the susceptible plants. I then repeat weekly till they're all big enough to cope by themselves.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
'Friendly pellets' to a slug , has the same ring of alarm as 'friendly fire' ! In cases of this, then order your lug pellets from America, as they are the experts in friendly fire !
But, getting away from the political side of things, seriously tho', folks, slugs and molluscs are a simple fact of life. I can understand the desire to rid one's garden of them , BUT they lay hundreds and fahsands of eggs in the soil. You'll NEVER get rid of them. They are a fact of life, a fact of wildlife, and we have to learn how to work with them.
I agree whole heartedly with you Peat, but i do think its a start for "us" to use less,rather than covering the whole place in pellets and spraying anything that moves, its a step in the right direction
I dont intentionally kill anything in the garden, but it has taken years to get a balance, i accept that even if some want to do this, they simply dont have the time, some dont have the patience, we all have our own ways of gardening. Its good to have this forum showing all of the different methods
Posts
1947 - that was one hell of a winter, remember it well
You're telling Porkies there Fishy, cos I dont remember you from back then.
I was in Canada in '47, and it was a helluva winter there as well ! I brought back a parrot from W.Africa, (ebola free ) in '62, and it thrived in the snow ! Looked bloody ridiculous wearing snowshoes, but we all had a jolly good laugh at it's expense, AND lashings of lemonade !
Bekkie, not as bad as when your slugs catch you talking to a neighbour, 'Colin, on your head son'.
I have to say if you can put up with your veggies looking decimated for a few weeks, witout having to pull the lot out, this really is the easiest approach
Apart from wildlife friendly slug pellets at time of planting veggie plugs I leave our veggies to their fate too and rely on birds to pick off the caterpillars. No spraying and no nets and regular hoeing.
However in the ornamental garden I do use the slug pellets round hostas and daylilies and daffs and clems. I start on Valentine's Day as it's an easy date to remember and just scatter a few of the organic pellets round the susceptible plants. I then repeat weekly till they're all big enough to cope by themselves.
'Friendly pellets' to a slug , has the same ring of alarm as 'friendly fire' ! In cases of this, then order your lug pellets from America, as they are the experts in friendly fire !
But, getting away from the political side of things, seriously tho', folks, slugs and molluscs are a simple fact of life. I can understand the desire to rid one's garden of them , BUT they lay hundreds and fahsands of eggs in the soil. You'll NEVER get rid of them. They are a fact of life, a fact of wildlife, and we have to learn how to work with them.
I dont intentionally kill anything in the garden, but it has taken years to get a balance, i accept that even if some want to do this, they simply dont have the time, some dont have the patience, we all have our own ways of gardening. Its good to have this forum showing all of the different methods