Slugs in winter?

[Patf]

I've just planted some spring cabbages and wonder if they're going to be attacked by slugs. Have never planted greens at this time of year before. I planted them in a patch which was used for broad beans last year and for the first time found that we have some proper soil, instead of the rockhard, or sticky clay .We have added compost etc and there were lots of worms. So those of you gardening on clay, don't give up - it will come right eventually. Can someone advise on the slug problem? Pat.

[Mpprh]

Hi

don't want to be a killjoy, but slugs were a major problem in Sweden.

We often had temps of -25C so I don't think a French winter will slow them down too much.

Peter

[Iceni]

We are currently eating our winter cabbage and far better than we could ever have imagined. The outside leaves on a few look like they have been attacked by caterpillars and we find the odd smallish slug inside but very little slug damage. The dreaded wooly aphis and white fly have also attacked (so much for whitefly dying during the winter or when it gets cold, after nights of frost there they still are).

Out of 20 we planted 19 made it - so yes, it is worthwhile giving it a go. They were Rigaletto (?sp) F1 and under €3 for the 20. Our overwintering onions don't look too bad even if it has been almost freezing every night since we put them in. We double planted as we want to take the thinnings this year for very early spring onions. Last year they were fantastic and at €3.5 for 50 we are again very pleased. We may loose some, but at that price it is worth a try and last years survived - and as the garden was flooded for about 5 months is proved that having some raised beds was a really good idea. 

To clear your beds of slugs the only real  thing I can suggest is chickens. Ours have just been taken off the veggie beds and corralled in one corner of the field (one huge corner I might add). They are getting a bit too extravagant with their digging around the raspberry canes and the peas and beans are not very safe from them. We have to keep the salad/spinach etc bed fenced off as we have rabbits - but one down and the rest are in our sights .

Enjoy your gardening, it is so rewarding and so easy when you buy seedlings from the market. Stuffed marrow tonight - another seedling from this spring.

Hmm, update, yesterday we removed chicken wire from around one bed and last night the rabbits did their worst. They have also chewed the bark off a new bramley - so that will probably die next spring - wire goes back up today, *$"%*

[Patf]

Peter - you're right about the cold not being a deterrent to the slugs. They've had a go already but not too bad. Di - you did well with your winter cabbages. We planted 20 and 6 disappeared. Of the others, we are enjoying eating them now, at least what is left after some stray cows made a dinner from them. We have some chickens which scrat around among the vegetables. I think rabbits are probably the worst pest of all. I do enjoy the gardening but have found it very hard heavy work up to now. Do you still practise the no-digging method? Pat.

[Iceni]

Di does practice the "no-digging" method - I do it !!

Luckily our losses to rabbits have not been too bad but only because we were soon on the case putting up a fence. The worst culprits by far are underground - moles, mice etc who eat the leeks, onions from below - very cartoon like.

The chickens did a great job eating wrigglers, weeds, manuring the land but do love to scratch particularly in newly turned ground so had to go into their own compound.

As regards slugs - we have some huge brown things (and yes they are definitely slugs) but they seem to keep clear of the veg patch. For whatever reasons we have far fewer than we left back in Essex - another plus for France ??

 

John not

[Val_2]

Well the ******s are alive and well and attacking my cristmas crop of sprouts when I looked at them earlier. shall pick them later and put them in the freezer so the blighters don't go any further. Our savoys are chewed a bit as well and I found slugs in some recently purchased lettuces so they don't hibernate in winter obviously. Where are those slug pellets........!

[Tresco]

Val 2, you're not really going to put the slugs in the freezer are you? Imagine the kind of mix ups you could have.

Swedish brother informs me the slugs he hates the worst are called morderesniglar - 'killerslug'. They each lay 400 eggs in very sneaky places before settling down for winter. Muscovy Ducks is his solution.