I have a big problem with slugs on my plot, and would love to hear of varieties people here have grown that seem to be slug-free.
I grew rocket, concorde, international kidney, and home guard this year. Probably a third of the rocket got slugged, so they are off the list for next year. The others were mostly okay, so they are still on the list :)
Thanks in advance
My rocket were quite heavily slugged as well. My Kestrels seem more immune but some are showing signs of scab - horses for courses I suppose.
I posted similar line under "Pests", and the replies seemed to suggest that spuds either with a hint of pink in them or red seem to put off the slugs. Also 1st earlies get away with it better (probably because they give them less time to find them and get stuck in ;D).
I grew Desiree as they are not as tasty to slugs (so I'm told by that chap on The Allotment DVD)
I have had a look under my black plastic to see if there;s anything there and there they are growing lovely and couldn't see any slugs. My Arran Pilot which I've harvested are quite unscathed too :) I did use slug bait (in sealed boxes) and the coffee and coffee grounds thing round the bed to deter them :)
Hi Moggle,
my best spuds,so far,this year,are Red Duke Of York.Concorde do well for me in the slug department as well.Last year I grew Sharpe's Express,which were totally untouched by the slugs.
Best of luck-Marky. :)
I've grown Kestrel potatoes and they have no slug damage at all, very nice taste, yield and size as well. Will definitely grow them again next year. Also growing Cara, haven't dug any yet so don't know what they'll be like, good blight resistance though.
Quote from: weedin project on August 04, 2005, 13:29:53
I posted similar line under "Pests", and the replies seemed to suggest that spuds either with a hint of pink in them or red seem to put off the slugs. Also 1st earlies get away with it better (probably because they give them less time to find them and get stuck in ;D).
I'd disagree here - the red Mimi I grew last year as salad pots were so badly slugged that this year I grew them in a tub at home. (Successfully)
moonbells
Our 'earliers' were Colleen & Nicola. Only one slug between them.
In general, we have found the reds a safer bet.
But how huch of this was due to soil conditions, & the fact that they were not in the ground as long as 'laters', rather than 'slugedibility'?
Hi Moggle...I did a trial when Desiree first came out, alternating rows with Majestic (white) , the Majestics were absolutely wiped out with slugs. At the time I put it down to either the colour or waxiness.
Cheers everyone! I had heard that the red ones were less prone to slugs, but it's nice to hear growers on here confirm that :-)
I had big stars already in my spud catalogue (T&M although I will probably buy from somewhere else or a potato day) next to Nicola, Kestrel and Sharpes Express, but again, good to hear the personal experience confirms what the catalogues say.
Quote from: moonbells on August 04, 2005, 22:32:03
Quote from: weedin project on August 04, 2005, 13:29:53
I posted similar line under "Pests", and the replies seemed to suggest that spuds either with a hint of pink in them or red seem to put off the slugs. Also 1st earlies get away with it better (probably because they give them less time to find them and get stuck in ;D).
I'd disagree here - the red Mimi I grew last year as salad pots were so badly slugged that this year I grew them in a tub at home. (Successfully)
moonbells
me too, i gre kerrs pink last year, i think from a bag of seed potatoes i ended up with about 5 edible spuds with no slug damage!
Quote from: adam04 on August 05, 2005, 11:23:10
Quote from: moonbells on August 04, 2005, 22:32:03
Quote from: weedin project on August 04, 2005, 13:29:53
I posted similar line under "Pests", and the replies seemed to suggest that spuds either with a hint of pink in them or red seem to put off the slugs. Also 1st earlies get away with it better (probably because they give them less time to find them and get stuck in ;D).
I'd disagree here - the red Mimi I grew last year as salad pots were so badly slugged that this year I grew them in a tub at home. (Successfully)
moonbells
me too, i gre kerrs pink last year, i think from a bag of seed potatoes i ended up with about 5 edible spuds with no slug damage!
Hey, don't knock..... :( I only said red/pink spuds "
seem" less prone - not claiming any cast iron solution to the problem! :'(
If slugs do less damage on pink or red taters, then there should be a market for hostas this colour.Does that make sense.
Thanks again everyone, I am starting to get an idea of what to grow next year, but will still welcome more of people's experiences!
Aren't the slugs in your potatoes more to do with the moisture content / clay / sand of your soil, than with the type of potato?
Slight correction to earlier post - I today dug a couple of Kestrels that appeared to have been completely mined by slugs (they weren't the remnants of the seed) The rest appeared untouched. The slugs were fed to the blackbirds.
Quote from: clara on August 08, 2005, 21:43:42
Aren't the slugs in your potatoes more to do with the moisture content / clay / sand of your soil, than with the type of potato?
That's probably true - but when you're stuck with clay soil like me, you've got to try to do something about it! Of course I can try to add humus to the soil, but I think slug-resistant spuds might prove more effective for me (I hope)
Thanks for the note about Kestrel Redclanger!
;)The reason that coloured potatoes are known to be more resistant to slugs, is that they have thicker skins. The colour is laid down as additional layers of skin.
It is also possible that some potatoes are not as tasty to slugs as others.
You can improve your chances of less damage from slugs by keeping your potatoes weed free, or the use of ground control fabric which I covered on previous postings, both of which give less places for the slugs to hide.
For details of the slug resistance of individual potato varieties, see Alan Roman's "Guide to seed potato varieties".
The "heritage" potato varieties, in my experience, have noticeably thicker skins than modern varieties, and better taste as well.