Grow Your Own Magazine

have just found some munch-marks on a couple of my brocolli plants (still very small) that I planted out a few days ago. would this be slugs do you think - should I be protecting them? they have had a 'bottle cloche' over them at night time.

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smiling is infectious....

http://www.thehudsonallotment.blogspot.com/ updated 28th May 2008

It will be either slugs or snails. They are a damned nuisance. Put some slug pellets around the plants - you can buy ones which are safe for the birds. I have got either a slug or a snail somewhere in my greenhouse and I can't find the thing. It's working its way through the cabbages and last night it had a tomato plant. I think I might put some lettuce leaves on the bench and see if I can catch it.

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I think it's most likely slugs as they live in the soil so can come up under your bottle cloche and leave no sign of their visit other than munch marks on your seedlings - get some pellets as LJ suggested.

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

yup, my brocc got bitten the first night in the ground. I have resorted to slug pellets, taking the view that 3 or 4 round each plant will deal with the monsters and not likely affect the end product...

Would love to be completely green but as far as slugs are concerned pellets are the only answer. No point in waiting til the've had a feast. Put pellets out prophilactically with all new plants. Call it things I learned the hard way.