Gourmet gardening for wildlife
Grow a garden full of food that both you and your wild neighbours can enjoy!
In less sunny years, there are practical things you can do to help plants that may struggle to survive slug attacks. Try putting susceptible plants away from dense cover where slugs will thrive. We grow our most susceptible flowering plants in pots on our paved area or on the garden table. We successfully grow lettuce in the greenhouse. We think slugs are deterred by the long slither to dinner.
Starting plants off in a greenhouse and growing them to a good size gives them a head start on slugs. Plants tend to be wonderfully lush and attractive to slugs when they first come out of the greenhouse, so it’s worth toughening them up before putting them in the border or vegetable plot. We keep an eye on the weather forecast and try to plant out when growing conditions will be good and avoid cool, damp conditions that will encourage slug activity. If despite all this care a plant is being demolished by slugs and snails, it’s worth digging it up and growing it on until it is large enough to withstand the slugs, usually about a foot tall. In the case of runner bean plants, we try to have a few spares just in case!
Slugs and snails tend to be more active at night so it may help to water plants in the morning rather than the evening. Some people use barriers against slugs; WAGAs’ experience of these is variable but the Royal Horticultural Society is a good source of information. Many WAGAs cope with slugs and snails by growing wildlife-friendly plants, mainly perennials, that survive them naturally. In future blogs, we will share information about some of our favourite slug-resistant plants.
Over the summer we host open gardens at our Tyland Barn Nature Park and Gardens and our Wild About Gardens volunteers nature-friendly gardens. Get your gardening questions answered and get some inspiration for your own garden.
Grow a garden full of food that both you and your wild neighbours can enjoy!
I have to admit how little I knew about slugs and snails before reading the latest Wild About Gardens guide. The RHS and The Wildlife Trusts have given these incredible creatures a reputation makeover. Discover for yourself these magnificent molluscs and…
Local community group Transition Dover have revived a previously neglected patch of land into a flourishing nature haven.