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How to keep slugs and snails at bay
by Hannah Stephenson
Unsurprisingly, given the amount of rain we had last year, slugs and snails were the UK's most troublesome garden pest of 2007, according to the Royal Horticultural Society, just beating the recently established harlequin ladybird.
Over the years I've tried all sorts of preventative methods to stop slugs and snails, from placing mulches of sharp grit, eggshells, crushed oyster shells and lime around vulnerable plants such as hostas, to a variety of slug pellets, beer and grapefruit traps.
But I've always found that the best way to stop slugs and snails is to pick them off by hand after a downpour, often in the evening when they are most active, sometimes by torchlight. They do their worst during mild wet weather in spring and autumn.
As slugs and snails are particularly rampant in my area, I have also resorted to putting young leafy plants, which these pests love, in pots and placing the pots on either metal stands which slugs have trouble in climbing, or putting copper strips around the pots to deter them. The copper contains a minute electrical charge to deter the slug or snail.
Each slug or snail produces around 500 offspring every season, with the majority of eggs being laid in the summer and autumn.
You need to start control methods from early spring. Firstly, ensure your garden is tidy and free of plant debris where slugs and snails may congregate. Any cultivation of the soil will help to disturb slugs and may bring them to the surface, where they can be eaten by predators. Surround raised beds with grass or slabs, as slugs don't like travelling over open ground.
Encourage predators such as hedgehogs, frogs and toads into your garden by leaving a patch of wild area or installing a small pond. You can also encourage snail-eating birds such as thrushes into your garden by planting shrubs and trees which bear berries and create a nesting area.
Slugs love young tender shoots and are particularly fond of newly emerging delphiniums, lupins and peonies. You could try protecting young plants by cutting a serrated collar from a plastic bottle and placing it around the base of the plant.
Some slugs spend a lot of their time below soil level, feeding on bulbs, tubers including potatoes and roots. Snails are much less active in winter, but slugs will feed whatever the weather.
There are many slug pellets on the market, but a lot of gardeners believe them to be an unacceptable environmental risk, as they can pose a threat to pets, children and wildlife. Also, if they become wet and start to turn mouldy, they are ineffective anyway.
Keen vegetable gardeners who have problems with slugs tunnelling through their potato crops should concentrate on earlier cropping varieties, which means that the potatoes will be lifted before the slug population becomes too great.
Less susceptible varieties of potato include 'Kestrel', 'Wilja' and 'Charlotte'. Avoid particularly susceptible varieties including 'Kondor', 'Cara' and 'Maris Piper'.
Biological controls are available in the form of nematodes, which are mixed up into a solution and then used as a drench on the soil around vulnerable plants. It needs to be applied when soil is moist and at a temperature about 5C (40F). The best time for using it is in the spring and autumn. The nematodes penetrate the slug's body and release bacteria to kill the slugs, and should last around six weeks.
You could also plant sacrificial crops such as lettuce, which slugs love, to distract them from the crops you really value.
Most plants, once established, tolerate slug damage. But if you don't want an endless battle with these slimy creatures, the best solution is to plant species which they don't like, such as hardy cranesbill geraniums, hydrangea, pinks, hebes, potentilla, lavatera and plants with hairy or narrow leaves, or succulent types such as sedum.
BEST OF THE BUNCH - Snowdrop (Galanthus)
They are among the first of the popular spring bulbs to open, signalling the end of winter, and look best in drifts in woodland areas, although they also grow well at the base of rural hedges where the soil is rich in organic matter.
You need a huge amount of snowdrops to achieve a naturalised effect quickly, so it's probably best to build up the carpet gradually, planting some more clumps every year.
Good varieties include Galanthus 'S. Arnott', which is a tall variety with large, scented flowers and those which are best for naturalising include the common snowdrop G. nivalis f. pleniflorus 'Flore Pleno', a double variety which looks great planted on the edge of paths or the base of walls.
Snowdrops should be planted in early autumn and thrive in semi shade in moist, rich soil. Plant them in clumps of three or five bulbs, grouping several clumps together.
:: For details of National Gardens Scheme gardens open to the public featuring snowdrop highlights, visit www.ngs.org.uk
GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT - Forcing chicory (Cichorium intybus)
'Forced' chicory, which is like a bitter lettuce, makes a welcome addition to winter salads. The witloof (white leaf), or Belgian chicory, is grown for forcing in autumn for winter eating. Sown in May, it is left to grow till late autumn when its substantial roots are lifted and the foliage trimmed off very close. It is then stored in a cold, dark place until needed.
The roots should be packed upright in a box of sand and then 'forced', that is, kept in a warm, dark place where they produce chicons, the plump leafy heads which can be added to salads. Force a few at a time between November and March, planting five in a 25cm pot, surrounding each root with compost and leaving the crown exposed.
Cover with an empty larger pot and block up the drainage holes and keep at a temperature of 10-15C. The chicons should be ready in around a month, when they are around 15cm high.
THREE WAYS TO... Reduce garden maintenance
1. Reduce the size of your lawn. Mowing the grass is the most time-consuming part of a garden, along with keeping the edges trimmed and dealing with the fiddly bits which the lawnmower can't handle.
2. Try growing more trouble-free plants in borders, such as potentillas, herbaceous geraniums, peonies, shrub roses and some viburnums.
3. Suppress weeds by applying a thick mulch (5cm) of coarse grade bark to borders in spring. This will have to be done every couple of years.
WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK
:: Cut back hedges before birds start to nest in them.
:: Prune large-flowered (Group 3) clematis.
:: In mild areas, start to prune roses, removing dead, diseased and dying stems.
:: Trim back winter-flowering jasmine when it has finished flowering.
:: Top-dress or repot pot-grown camellias when they pass out of flower.
:: Check supports on wall-trained fruit trees or bushes before the new season's growth starts in earnest.
:: Test the soil in your garden to see if the pH needs adjusting or if it is deficient in any major nutrients.
:: Put cloches in position to warm the soil for early sowings of vegetables next month.
:: Sow under glass slow-maturing bedding plants such as African marigolds, petunias, lobelia and antirrhinums.
:: Prune autumn-fruiting raspberry canes.
DON'T MISS
The Alnwick Garden, Denwick Lane, Alnwick, Northumberland: Give the kids a half term treat with a visit to this wonderful garden, with highlights including the Poison Garden, where you can find out about dangerous plants, and an impressive wooden treehouse. For details phone 01665 511 350 or go to www.alnwickgarden.com
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Weather for Bedford
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 10 C to 25 C
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Wind direction: East
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