Arrrgh.
We got the much-needed rain, but that also meant that slugs came out. There aren’t many, but it was enough to wipe off nearly a month of work – almost all my pumpkins, except butternut, are dead. This is because they were weakened by the stupidly cold and dry May (we basically had April weather in May, and then it went straight into June), and did not manage to take root and grow fast enough after being planted outside. I will be lucky to have any zucchini or Hokkaido at all.
My mood took a nosedive.
Too bad.
Having started to read your agri-oriented posts with much interest, I am sorry to hear that.
At the cost of suggesting the bloody obvious, maybe you could:
-- restart new seedlings, possibly under plastic and much sun in order to push the little bastards along a bit,
-- or simply cheat and get some already stable plants either at market or from some neighbour/colleague (I did that last year when my basil seeds crapped out on me en masse, so I got some plants and had basil enough for salads and some pesto).
I know, herbs are easy and proper veggies and fruit not at all, but what can one do but persevere…
It was brassicas in our case, but we had slug attacks too. I feel your pain.
my husband made a moat of hazelnut shells around his raised garden and it has had no slugs, for whatever that’s worth.
Ouch! I’m sorry to hear this.
@outis, I am starting new seedlings for the marrows; those usually start quickly, and they need not fully ripen to be edible. But the hokkaido, no chance. Before the seeds would germinate and the plants grow big enough to be planted outside, it would be mid-July. The growing season around here is not long enough for the fruit to ripen after that. And buying plants is no longer an option either, not to mention that they are so expensive that it is actually cheaper to buy the actual pumpkins at a supermarket.
@Bébé Mélange, tbh I think that is just a coincidence. In my experience, no anti-slug barriers actually work against the spanish slugs. Last year, I had no slug damage worth speaking of, without doing anything other than planting strong, big, and healthy plants. If my pumpkins were healthy and strong, I would not have a problem this year either.
Weahter can very easily throw a spanner in the works.
Oh,I’m so sorry. I hate slugs with a passion
charly -- wow. thanks for the information. that’s fucked up, bruh.