Gardening Challenges: Snails and Slugs
So after I started bragging that I had planted over 30 varieties of veggies in my most grandiose garden ever, people began asking me for gardening advice.
Then the snails and slugs pretty much wiped out my radishes and basil seedlings, I planted summer squash, okra, and cucumbers (from seed) too early so they never sprouted, and a third of my tomatoes and peppers froze in that April 20 frost.
So no, I am not a professional at this (I never claimed to be), and luckily I am not looking to my yard to provide for the bulk of my household's nutritional needs, at least not this year.
That isn't to say that some things haven't work out the way I have planned, and apparently enough things are working (I am very proud of my corn at the moment) such that folks are still asking me for advice.
Snails, slugs top the list--How do I keep them from my plants without using poison?
Here is what I have learned (some of this may seem obvious to more experienced gardeners):
1) Wood chips and shady cracks between large rocks make great habitat for snails and slugs. Planting my radish seeds directly beneath some old wood chips was, in short, stupid.
2) Though I haven't tried it myself, I have heard that the use of small containers filled with beer are fair solutions at best. My instinct tells me that getting them to work effectively is a pretty high maintenance endeavor, and can be complicated by careless footsteps or an errant hose.
3) Last year I didn't have as much trouble with the slugs, and my brilliant snail solution was to, well, eat them. (Incidentally, that's why garden snails were originally introduced to California in the 1850's). Yes, I picked them off by hand, found a recipe, "purged them" on corn meal, and. . .well, it was a lot of work for what ended up being a cup of escargot (75 snails), which eventually found its way to the freezer and then the compost.
4) This year I am again picking off the snails by hand, and so long as I keep the wood chips away from the plants the slugs are not a big problem. Perhaps in a later years the snails will be food for domestic runner ducks, which apparently love the little slimeballs.
5) Ultimately I think the best method, when used effectively, will be to fasten a copper strip around the sides of a raised wood or brick planter bed. The strips are for sale at OSH, and apparently the snails don't like crawling over them. Lacking a raised wood or brick planter bed myself, I am forced to pick them off by hand or be sure to start my seedlings far away from their final destination.
Comments
I volunteered at some G.R.U.B. gardens, and we've used the beer method with pretty good results!
We used a small plastic dish, something like a petri dish (you can cut the bottom off of a plastic bottle and use that), and filled it up with old beer. We ended up having to empty it of dead slugs maybe once a week! They sure do have a sweet tooth.
Reply:
I stand corrected. Okay, I'll give it a shot! I am sure the dead slugs make for fine compost as well.
Jeremy
Posted by: Jono | May 14, 2008 03:28 PM