Topic: first tip first question

[isbister]

Hello everyone

I'm new here and looking forward to gaining and sharing knowledge. Wife and I have had an allotment for three years. I was a tree surgeon for twenty years, then a landscape gardener and now a general gardener (age catches up with you) so I've been involved with growing stuff for a long time. However, when we took on the allotment I quickly realised I knew stuff all about vegetables....steep learning curve later i think we've got it under control, somewhat...still a lot to learn though.
Anyway, my tip is: contact your local swimming pool maintenance company. They have old pool covers which they just throw away. This stuff is like industrial strength bubble wrap, comes in any colour you like as long as it's blue, and is designed to float on the pool surface and keep the heat in. I've managed to get one about fifty feet by twenty! I just know it's going to be extremely useful but all I've done with it so far is cut bits off and line my pallet compost bins...
My question is woodlice. This year they've been eating our tomatoes bigtime, and the beetroot, and we've even found them on the runner beans, it's a veritable plague. I thought it might have been the drought we've had here driving them to moisture but it's wet enough now and they're still at it. Any ideas re this, I'm organic so can't use chemical controls. Thanks

[bennettsleg]

welcome and thanks for the Top Tip (very very top tip!).

Sorry, but I have no idea about the woodlice, but someone will be along soon. :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

it's unlikely to be the drought driving them out because they have a rather inefficient breathing mechanism which needs dampness to work properly. Most likely the recent wet weather is what's bringing them out, but are you sure it's woodlice doing all the damage, and not slugs?

[Multiveg]

it's unlikely to be the drought driving them out because they have a rather inefficient breathing mechanism which needs dampness to work properly. Most likely the recent wet weather is what's bringing them out, but are you sure it's woodlice doing all the damage, and not slugs?

The slugs started the damage on my tomatoes, this then allowed the woodlice to feast.

[keef]

I agree, the damage was probably started by somthing else. Woodlice have been eating some of mine too, but only the ones that have had bloosom end rot. I had it on some of my Roma's and thats the ones the woodlice have been going for, the rest seem fine.

You can eat woodlice - accourding to Hugh Fernly what-is-face, taste like shrimps apparantly....  :-X

[tim]

Sounds right. They only go for rotting veg?

[Robert_Brenchley]

I don't doubt you can eat them, but there's not much on them. Not like the glorious shrimps I used to net at my grandfather's place at St. Osyth in Essex when I was a kid.

[Biscombe]

Urgh my stomach is turning!!!!
Woodlice ate the centre of my celery stems (the ones that were blanched with cardboard!! I supose they went for the card first and thought eh up this green stuff tastes ok!!!!
good look Isbister I'll be interested in any organic tips against woodlice too!

[muddy boots]

Toosy!  Did you go Thames Sailing Barging too RB?

[Robert_Brenchley]

No, I don't think I ever saw one there either. But it was many years ago; my grandfather had a beach chalet down there. He had to get rid of it in the end due to coastal erosion, but we had some good holidays there; I used to go shrimping, fishing and shellfishing, and find lizards on the dunes.