Friday was another inside day as during the morning there was lots of short heavy showers which mostly cleared away after lunch time leaving a very windy and sunny afternoon. A gust of 28.0mph recorded in the middle of the afternoon was a record high for May.
The mild wet weather is spot on for slugs and snails to do what they seem to do best, devastate our seedlings. A check in the greenhouse each morning will catch a few late returning opportunists who are removed to that great council compost bin. On the Internet I spotted an article saying that a Garlic spray might act as a deterrent to slugs and snails.
There seems to be plenty of recipes out there but do they work? I've decided to give it a go. Most of the recipes are something like this:
Crush 2 bulbs of garlic. Steam or boil in 2 pints of water for 3 to 4 minutes until blanched. Strain mixture and make back up to 2 pints. Leave to cool. When ready to use mix one tablespoon into a gallon (3.8 litres) of water.
I’m going to give it a try. There doesn't seem to be much to loose. It’s a deterrent rather than a slug or snail killer but at least it isn't going to damage any crops or other animals. I’m planning to give it a trial around our cold frame and perhaps around crops very susceptible to slug damage like lettuces and maybe even try it around our carrot seedlings.
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I'll be interested to see how you get on with this. I saw the littlest boy carefully putting a snail that was crossing the path into a pot of hostas the other day where it would be safe. So if it works I shall give it a go. A good way to use garlic that's sprouted as well.
ReplyDeleteOur hostas are doing all right at the minute but then we haven't got anyone adding snails to their pots.
DeleteThanks for this Martyn. I await your findings with bated breath. I'm growing extra garlic this year with a view to using the excess as slug deterrent! I saw a prog about hosta growers who did this, and if it works for hostas it works for anything!
ReplyDeleteIt seems a bit too simple for it to work. I also read about making a homemade soup of slug destroying nematodes but that might be a step too far....unless the garlic doesn't work.
DeleteI used a version of this last year for the first time and had good results (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d26tyrTtvXA), the slugs didn't seem to bother with anything that I had sprayed. Also, it was very effective against greenfly and blackfly. You just need to remember to spray regularly.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog.
Ken
Thanks for the info Ken. I'll try to remember to spray regularly.
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