Tuesday started off with some promise - there was pleasant morning sunshine and temperatures were mild. It didn't last and by lunchtime it clouded over giving us a very dull afternoon and evening.
Most of my winter brassicas have been moved to the cold frame to grow on before planting out in the plot. My main problem is keeping them safe from marauding molluscs.
These two pictures show what happens to plants around the cold frame when left unprotected. The left-over tub of hostas on the left is almost totally devoured and some spare pea plants on the right completely devastated with not a single leaf left. So adequate measures are a must.
The floor of the cold frame is covered with a layer of copper impregnated matting which is supposed to be a deterrent as it gives slugs a tiny electric shock as they slime their way over it. In our case plenty of molluscs are happy to cross this for a meal. As the cold frame is sealed around the base as well as possible I've scattered a few slug pellets over the matting.
Old upturned florist’s buckets are then used to support large plastic trays which hold four standard sized seed trays. I’ve found out the hard way that this hasn’t formed an impenetrable barrier for molluscs so this year some extra measures are being introduced.
Each upturned bucket has a further two mollusc rings, a copper ring which was already in place from last year and an addition ring of tree band grease which I’m hoping will remain sticky for the rest of the summer.
With a frame full of lettuce seedlings and winter brassicas I’m hoping these plants survive to produce good plants for the plot in a few weeks time. Just in case you think there is an awful lot of brassicas you’re right I’m planning on sharing them with a gardening friend.
Posts
You'd think there's enough protection there but it's amazing the lengths slugs will go to to get a meal. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI'm by no means confident my precious plants will make it!
ReplyDelete