Potatoes up but just as damaged as last year

[Gordonmull]

Lifted my spuds today and about half of them are slugged (or maybe wirewormed) despite it being a ridiculously dry summer :(

I can count the number of wet days on my fingers and the soil has never stayed wet.

Probably should have still been pelleting, despite the dry weather but I really didn't see the point. Ah well, I do now! On the plus side only two speared with the fork and only one row left to dig. (Obviously the 2 that were speared were good sized with no pest damage)

There are some very small holes on some of them, would I be correct in saying this was wireworm? It is a recent lawn conversion at the end of its second year.

Given that I'm growing Romano, which is supposed to have good slug resistance, and I've had about the same amount of damage as I had last year, during what could only be described as the great flood and slugageddon combined, could it be the wireworm opening up holes and the slugs are then taking the opportunity to widen them and dig in?

Hope everyone else has had a good haul. 

[Gordonmull]

[gavinjconway]

Maybe you left them in the ground too long..

[Unwashed]

I'd suspect wireworm if the holes are small (like 2mm) and the bed was recently grassed.  I'd also grow another variety, because whatever the book says, if Romano suffers in your soil then that's that.  Kestrel do famously for me, though they're not a main crop as such and I don't store them past Chrimbo as a rule.  I'd never use slug pellets, they kill all of the other creatures that share my allotment, finding a better variety has got to be a better answer.

[Gordonmull]

Gavin, could you tell me a wee bit more please? This has been the most difficult thing for me this year, knowing when to harvest. Last year, which was my first, i got blighted (surprise, surprise) in August, so cut back the shaws and harvested a week later. This year i've had the luxury of a full growing season. I did find out a bit late that I should have been successionally harvesting them instead of waiting to lift them as a whole crop. I had a scour of the net but I couldn't find anything that could help me with when to lift the remainder by. For some reason i had this vague memory of coming across something last year that said September, or when the shaws had yellowed and died back, but I know enough by now to realise that gardens don't work by the month but by the weather.

Unwashed, some holes were about 2mm. I think too wee and the wrong shape for a slug. I saw enough slug holes last year on the established bed to know exactly what they look like. And these are different, sort of narrow and driven deeper in than the big chomp holes made by slugs. Dammit, I know you're right on trying another variety but Romano and me hit it off last year despite the awful conditions. It's an enormously good all rounder in the kitchen and i do need a half decent storer. Not much storage potential if half the crop is slugged to beggery, right enough. Open to suggestions from anyone who wants pitch in.

If there was any wildlife here that I could kill with metaldehyde I wouldn't use it either. I'm not an allotmenteer, just an urban gardener. In the three years i've been here never seen a hedgehog, saw 2 black birds, no amphibians, no reptiles, a few rabbits. My 2 young cats that were excellent hunters previously have brought in a total of a rabbit, and they lost one vole outside. A flock of sparrows lives up the road in garden well kitted out with feeders. none ever visit our feeders, nor are seen an adjacent gardens. The only thing that does is the occasional flock of starlings. Even pigeons are rare. No foxes, either. I've heard a few tits but only when the pubs are closing. Bloody urban desert. Anyway, could be worse, I could be back in the countryside and have to put up with all the interesting wildlife and nice scenery. Seriously, though, i have had a few wee gems, we have solitary bees that nest in boreholes in the masonry (not the damaging kind, old screw holes) and we had a bumblebee nest under the shed last year.

Anyway, rambling now. Glad of any help that can be given regards varieties and thanks for taking the time to answer me, both.

[gavinjconway]

I'm no expert but I tend to dig my main crop when the halms turn and start to die off. I believe that August'ish is normally best as the slugs really are prolific after this.

As normal I found this year that my main crop King Edward were the best at being slug resistant and my Maris Piper were bad again!! But I just use the bad ones first, make loads of mash and freeze it. My earlies were Pentland Javelin and were almost not affected and I did leave them a bit late. Wireworm are normally found where there was a grass/lawn covering so not normally in an established bed. Slugs are the main culprit and make tiny holes as well as larger 3-4mm holes..

[manicscousers]

Our reds, duke of york and desiree are good, very few slug holes every year, kestrel are great. The slugs poblem is bad here but reds aren't bothered by them 

[gavinjconway]

Mmmmm - I remember I did Desiree a couple of years ago and they were good so maybe I'll try some as a second type.

[telboy]

You won't regret it Gavin!!

[Palustris]

Putting down slug pellets for the slugs which attack tubers is a waste of time. these slugs are called keeled slugs and they tend to live in the soil, so they never come to the surface to eat the pellets. Wireworms usually are found in potatoes which have already been damaged by keeled slugs, rather than being the primary cause of damage.
As said, the best solution is to find a variety which is not attacked.

[saddad]

Properly applied nematodes are good at greatly reducing the number of keeled slugs in the soil, and hence the damage, but it's not a quick or cheap fix. More resistant varieties like Red Dukes and Desiree is a quicker solution. 

[Digeroo]

I can also recommend Desiree, they seem to be coming up very clean so far, and have produced quite a decent crop.

There is a method of producing your own nematodes.  Not tried it yet.  Apparently all you need is a bucket and a desire to murder a few slugs and some starter nematodes.  Yuk.

[BarriedaleNick]

Dug up my Sharpo Mira yesterday and all I can say is wow!!!
Hardly any slug damage, tiny amount of scab and a really decent crop - got 60lbs of spuds from 9 seed spuds planted out.  I struggled to get them off the plot and need a wheel barrow to get them up the steps..
If the Desiree and Setanta crop the same then I will have more spuds than I know what to do with and that would be a first for me..

The only downside was the amount of slug/snail eggs in the soil - hopefully if I turn the soil a couple of times the birds will do their job..

[Paulh]

I had a lot of slug damage on Rocket (50%+) which was disappointing as I have used a lot of nematode control for several years now, a little less on British Queen (25% perhaps) and effectively none on Kestrel (as usual). That was six rows, growing side by side, in about 12' square. Draw your own conclusions on relative resistance to slug attack!