Get the upper hand in this battle against our cool weather enemies!
The garden bed has been getting pretty bare as the cool weather plants are taking their last gasps. I want to throw in a whole lot of lettuce seedlings and directly sow some beans to grow up the tomato stakes as I transition from legumes to solanaceae.
Although not considered traditional companion plants, they will act as a
nurse crop. They shelter seedlings from excessive sun, reduce weed competition and prevent erosion.
The beans will protect the young tomatoes as they grow up their supports. On the ground established lettuces will shade the roots, so constant mulching won’t be necessary, and more importantly will protect the true tomato companions that will only just be ready for transplant when weather is getting hot – marigolds, basil, amaranth, dandelions, chives.
Unfortunately my plan was brutally cut off at the ground and silvery tracks betrayed the criminal. Soon it will be too hot for the slimey ones to show their heads, but for now they are having a field day on delicious, sappy new spring growth. What’s a girl to do?! I’m yet to find herbs that repel snails (they just live in them!) and coffee grounds just don’t cut it. Sharp calcium rich egg shells and crispy seaweed help, but these snails are seriously out of control! There is not enough beer in the world to drown their enthusiasm!
THE SOLUTION?
Build a fortress! Take the idea of the juice bottle greenhouse and bring it to the garden bed! All we need is a minor modification, keep the bottle top on and drill some tiny ventilation holes to prevent the nasties crawling in. Bury it deep enough to protect against cutworm as well! Only 1 is needed for a lettuce until it is established, but for beans they can be stacked 3-4 high until the stem is thick enough to hold its own. Just put a short stick inside the greenhouse for it to climb and when you remove the bottle simply tie this to the taller stake. The trapped heat will also help the beans and lettuces thrive!
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Sharp eggshells deter snails and slugs, but also add calcium to the soil, available for next years crop
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► Check out my next post to see how I have snail proofed the nursery! |
6 Comments
i live in the drier mediterranean-climate state of australia and i’ve use the cheap brand of cat litter to successfully deter slugs and snails. it consists of diatomoceous skeletons that have become fossilised…its extremely sharp and super absorbent. i build what i call the reverse moat around any seedlings with a ring of cat litter about 3-5cm wide…snails refuse to go near it because it absorbs the moisture from their mucous membrane and the sharpness of the material also keeps them at bay. i leave enough space between the seedling and the litter ring so i can hand water the plants for the establishment phase…then just add extra cat litter to the ring if it rains or if i’ve given the garden a good soak. i’ve had more success with this method than with the egg shells. the other advantage is that the litter is essentially clay and loaded with lots of nutrients that can go straight into the soil of the vegetable bed.
Hey Grant! That’s really interesting that you use kitty litter to deter snails,I love it when people come up with alternative uses for existing products. If the snails demolish all my peas like they did last winter I might have to give it a go. 🙂
Hi, I’m in Perth and have a major snail problem so have started seedlings in the garden under plastic cups to protect them. I was starting to wonder what to do next as I’ve given up year after year so I love your bottle idea….was there an update on how you progressed from there? I like the cat litter idea too. Your blog is beautiful.. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Rachel, thanks for your comment. I find a lot of my snail issues occur because I plant seeds too early when there is a snail population explosion in early spring as it warms up. Snails love those juicy young stalks and leaves and the plants grow so slowly they don’t get tough quick enough to survive. We stack two juice bottles together and this allows even sunflowers to get at least 30-40cm at which stage they don’t get eaten. We also have trialled the pet safe iron based snail pellets in our seedling punnet this spring. The only plant we have really struggled with is peas, I have to sow so many with lots of companion plants to have a few survivors, I think I’ll have to grow them in pots and raised beds with copper tape around the edge next year. Let me know how you went. 😊