Originally posted by 1Bee
View Post
The slug nematodes kill slugs that live in the soil, and I'm sure they are working as I have found several sick-looking slugs (half dried up and dopey) - this is what happens when I apply nematodes at home, and they do work, but they don't kill all the slugs, just like hedgehogs and toads don't eat them all. The nematodes do not work on snails. I'd really rather not use slug pellets of any description as I am concerned about poisoning other wildlife. I've found a toad on the plot and there are hedgehogs in the area (you occasionally see a flattened one on the road

Good to hear that the horsetail does slow down - at the current rate there will be no room for anything else shortly!
I think I was lulled into a false sense of security with direct sowing, which was very successful in the hotbed. There is quite a difference in composition between the hotbed (100% fresh horse manure + new compost) and the raised beds (which contain a mix of rotted manure that has been sitting in a field for a year, leaf mould that has been sitting in my Mum's garden for a year or more and used compost from my pots at home). With hindsight, I think it highly likely that I imported slug eggs with some of that, and it will certainly have provided a nice home for any slugs that were already at the plot. The wet spring will have made the problem worse.
As is usually the case, I've been a bit pushed for space for modules, but I have sown some leeks in pots and all the peas, beans, courgettes and brassicas will be grown in pots until they are big enough to cope. The biggest problem is the carrots and parsnips, which don't want transplanting if at all possible. I could grow some parsnips in loo roll innards, but I may have to admit defeat with carrots and just grow them at home.
Comment