Topic: veg that slugs and snails won't eat

[aquilegia]

Everything I plant, the slugs and snails eat. 

It's utterly demoralising!

I've managed to grow some things in pots (don't have an allotment) and have put vaseline around the top to stop them. But I'm finding it very hard work, I've run out of space on my patio and some things are struggling in even the largest pots. I can grow potatoes in the soil, but don't have a lot of space, so rotation is an issue!

What can I grow in the soil that won't instantly be chomped by the evil slimy things?

I've tried collecting, beer traps, egg shell barriers, laying copper pipes around the plants etc etc, helped a little, but then one got through and bye bye plant! I can't use nematodes as I have clay soil, and of course they won't work on snails anyway. I can only grow ornamental plants that slugs/snails won't eat as well.

[galina]

I find that red lettuce gets munched less.  My other remedy is planting things out when they are a bit bigger rather than direct sowing. Another remedy I use is bottle cloches.

There is of course organic slug killer if all else fails.  Works great and is not dangerous for birds, hedgehogs  or pets who might have eaten slugs with slug killer.   

This one works well and lasts a long time:
http://www.wilko.com/insecticides+pest-control/wilko-slug-bait-590g/invt/0331176

[aquilegia]

I've planted out my carefully nurtured courgette and bean plants before. Got them growing really nicely. Next day - just a few sad stems left. I just can't do it. All that work for nothing. It works fine with pots (and some vaseline - reminds me I must buy some more!)

I'm a bit nervous of slug pellets because I have small children.

[Digeroo]

You can put slug pellets into a plastic container with a slug sized hole at ground level. The slugs go in and die and do not come out again.  In the morning you can remove the containers.  Slugs are nocturnal so you can put out the stuff only when the children are safety tucked up in bed. 
Only down is coping with the dead slugs.

[saddad]

The organic slug pellets.. with a ferric active ingredient are perfectly child safe.. they actually give it to anaemic babies..

[aquilegia]

OK, will give it a go.

They give it to anaemic babies??!! really!?

Funnily enough, by the time my children are tucked up safely in bed, all I can manage to do is get myself to bed. But I'm sure if it's in a container, and tucked well away it'll be ok. THey are 5 and 10, so not like marrauding toddlers anymore, most of the time!

[aquilegia]

Do they work on snails too?

And from the responses, does that mean there are no vegetable plants that slugs don't eat?!

[strawberry1]

I am using buckwheat hulls as a test. Put some down in a raised bed containing 2 blueberries and planted 10 baby strawberry plants around the edges a few weeks ago. So far so good, not a nibble anywhere and strawberries getting big and red. Why buckwheat hulls? I once emptied out two buckwheat pillows at the apple tree/flowers end and three years later the hulls are still to be seen. The soil is more open, heavy clay and easily raked now. Buckwheat hulls are quite sharp and very light so a small weight goes a long way. Its an experiment and one I will continue next season as I have a good amount left, maybe under the brassicas as they always get eaten. My courgettes have not been eaten at all, 3 good plants in a raised bed, this year planted through weed fabric and now and then a sprinkling of pellets. Many courgettes so far and not a bite on them

Ahh, I forgot, I used slug nematodes in my 6 veg raised beds and they kill the small slugs, particularly the underground ones, not big slugs or snails

[PondDragon]

The organic slug pellets.. with a ferric active ingredient are perfectly child safe.. they actually give it to anaemic babies..

They're perfectly safe only so long as the children (or pets) don't actually eat them. Iron phosphate on its own is not particularly toxic (to slugs or anything else), but these pellets also contain EDTA which chelates the iron and makes them far more toxic (despite what it says on the label). Dogs seem to be particularly at risk. e.g. see here: http://www.hostalibrary.org/firstlook/RRIronPhosphate.htm

[saddad]

True... it's the "active ingredient" they use on babies.. I'm not suggesting you actually feed them the pellets!

[Vinlander]

You can put slug pellets into a plastic container with a slug sized hole at ground level. The slugs go in and die and do not come out again.  In the morning you can remove the containers.  Slugs are nocturnal so you can put out the stuff only when the children are safety tucked up in bed. 
Only down is coping with the dead slugs.

That's a great idea - I don't like the idea of removing the slugs though...

If you put a few dozen pellets in do they all get eaten?

If so I'd be inclined to move the full container to a dry place, replace it and empty the full ones when they are thoroughly dried out. (I'd use 500ml water bottles - plenty more of those in any street bin).

I've heard that rabbits and pigeons actually see ferric pellets as an iron tonic - not only do they hoover them up but the idea of creating an even faster-breeding colony of hyperferric pests is quite unnerving.

Cheers.