Newsletter Summer 2021

• Self-drive visit to FarmED
• Self-drive visit to Old Priory, Quenington
• Annual Show
• Programme of Events 2021
• Programme of Events 2022
• ... and... Slugs and Snails

The word solstice comes from the Latin words for "sun" and "to stand still." In the Northern Hemisphere, it always occurs around June 20 or 21. This date is considered to be the first day of Summer.

Self-drive visit to FarmED: 27th June 2021 2pm. to 4:30 pm.

See our Events page: Visit to FarmED

Self-drive visit to Old Rectory, Quenington: 14th July 2021 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

See our Events page: Visit to Old Rectory

Annual Show: 11th September 2021 2 p.m to 4 p.m.

See our Events page: Annual Flower and Produce Show

Programme of Events 2021

See our Events page

Programme of Events 2022

See our Events page

A really good article taken from Garden Organic website:

https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/slugs-and-snails

Slugs and snails are the number one enemy of organic growers. Here’s a five point plan to get rid of these hungry molluscs.

1. Protect your plants. Create barriers with slug collars, grit, wool pellets, cloches made from plastic bottles. Or traps, using beer in a pot. Keep checking daily – especially after wet or damp weather.
2. Collect slugs and snails. Put down a flat slate on the soil near your plants and check underneath it every day to remove the slugs and snails which have congregated in the dark and damp.
3. Hunt them. Go out after dark and pick up every slug and snail (use tongs or gloves if squeamish). Dispose of them as you wish – ideally putting them in a suitable natural habitat away from any cultivated land.
4. Bio-controls ie Nematodes. These are expensive to buy, so make sure you follow the instructions re soil temperature, watering etc carefully.
5. As a last resort – slug pellets. Only use pellets certified as suitable for organic growing (check the logo) and use sparingly. The chemicals in slug pellets can cause problems for earthworms. See below.

Here are some other ways to confound them:

• Choose trouble free plants. Slugs and snails love hostas and delphiniums. See below for a list of flowers not so high on their menu.
• Slugs also love young green growth. So wait to plant out seedlings until they are mature and resistant.
• Potato varieties such as Ambo, Cara, Desiree, Romano, Sante and Valor have shown resistance to slugs.
• Ground beetles, frogs, toads, hedgehogs and birds all feed on slugs. Make your garden a friendly place for these beneficial creatures by avoiding harmful sprays and creating a variety of wildlife habitats and nesting boxes.
• Tidy up or remove any piles of rubble or stones close to cultivated areas, as well as stacks of flowerpots, and piles of plant debris. These are all hiding places for slugs and snails.

Barriers and traps to catch slugs and snails

Barriers can be either home-made or commercial products.

• Bottle cloches - cut the bottom off a clear plastic bottle and firm it into the soil around a vulnerable seedling/plant.
• Slug collars - plastic rings with a lip to make crossing it difficult, placed around individual plants such as lettuce.
• Grit or Granules - natural mineral products that either form a sharp, gritty repellent barrier or that suck the moisture from the slime that slugs and snails exude as they move.
• Bran or oats. Put a thick layer round the plant, slugs will eat it, swell up and become easy picking for birds. But you need to renew daily, especially in damp weather.
• Spray repellent - made from yucca plant extract, spray on to surfaces and around vulnerable plants. Especially useful in hard-to-protect-places like greenhouse window frames. Needs renewing after heavy rain.
• Copper tape/rings - copper gives a natural electric charge that repels both slugs and snails. Tape is useful around pots and legs of greenhouse staging

Slug traps require some form of bait – beer is popular! To make your own, use a shallow container (plastic coleslaw or yoghurt pot) and insert it into the soil. Leave a rim 2cm above soil level to prevent beetles and other creatures from falling in.

Biological control: Nematodes

There is a microscopic nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita which kills slugs - particularly small, soil-dwelling ones - but not snails. It is a native species and can be found naturally in the soil throughout the UK. For it to be effective, however, you need large numbers and regular application. You can buy nematodes on line. They are often supplied in a pack of moist clay; this is mixed with water and applied to the soil with a watering can. Slugs will be controlled for up to 6 weeks, after which re-application is often necessary.

Important points for success with nematode controls:

The soil should be moist for 2 to 3 weeks after application to enable the nematodes to live. During dry spells watering may be necessary.

The soil temperature should be above 5°C. If you live in the south, this probably between March and October. Further north, your window is more limited. In a greenhouse, use whenever slugs are active.

Once opened, the contents must be used immediately. Unopened, the sachet may be stored in a fridge for 4 weeks or in a cool dark area for 2 days.

Slug pellets

Use only Ferric phosphate based pellets. They contain ferric phosphate or iron III phosphate, which affects the calcium metabolism in the gut system of snails and slugs causing them to stop feeding and die within three to six days. Although the ferric phosphate is less toxic than metaldehyde, there remains the problem of the other ingredients in the tablets - known as chelators. These chemicals help bond the iron molecules and make them more toxic to the molluscs. Unfortunately they also affect earthworms, and, if consumed in large quantities, can poison pets. Our advice is to use these pellets only as a last resort. To use them sparingly, and store them safely. Other slug pellets: those based on metaldehyde or methiocarb should NEVER be used in an organic garden.

Flowering plants resistant to slugs and snails

Acanthus, Achillea, Agapanthus, Alchemilla mollis, Antirrhinum, Aquilegia, Astrantia, Bergenia, Corydalis, Cynara, Dicentra, Digitalis (Foxglove) ,Eryngium, Euphorbia, Fennel, Forget me not, Fuchsia, Gallardia, Hardy Geranium, Geum, Hemerocallis, Japanese anemone, Lysimachia, Nasturtium, Nepeta, Pelargonium, Phlox, Polygonum, Potentilla, Pulmonaria, Oriental poppy, Rudbeckia, Sedum, Sempervivum, Thalictrum, Verbascum.

Want to know more about slugs and snails?

The Garden Snail, Cornu aspersum, is usually dark or golden brown, or chestnut with yellow stripes. The body is soft, slimy and brownish-grey. As it moves, it secretes a mucus which helps it glide across a surface by rhythmic waves of contraction. The snail moves at a top speed of .012 metres per second (compare this with Usain Bolt who runs a thousand times faster, at 12 mts per second.) However, unlike Bolt, the snail is helped by its mucus to go up a slope at any angle, including upside down; it can resist being pulled off a firm surface with an adhesive strength several times its own weight; rest on a surface at any angle without any expenditure of energy; and it can pass over the edge of razor blade without harm.

Snails are herbivores, eating vegetables, fruit, flowers and cereals, as well as rotting plant material. When injured the animal produces a defensive froth of mucus to repel enemies such as aggressive small ants. When it's freezing, the snail alters its blood structure to prevent the formation of ice in its tissues. In dry weather, it seals the shell opening with a thin membrane of dried mucus. This helps retain moisture and protects it from insects.

The snail's head has four tentacles; the upper two have eye-like light sensors, and the lower two are tactile and used for smelling.

How do snails reproduce? Snails are hermaphrodite and take up to 2 hours to mate. They lay a batch of about 80 spherical pearly-white eggs into crevices in the topsoil or sheltered under stones. In a year it may lay six batches or so. That's nearly 500 young snails, which will take one or two years to reach maturity.

Slugs use their mucus as a navigation system, as it helps them follow the trail back to their tunnels and feeding sites.

The slug's mantle is an area behind the head and is made of thick flesh. If a slug is frightened or not active it will retract its head into the mantle for protection. The keel is a ridge that runs the length of the back of some species of slug. Slugs live in dark damp places or underground. They need persistent moisture to prevent drying out. Cool weather, rain and fog are perfect for slugs. However in a long dry spell, slugs can encase themselves in a papery cocoon-like structure and attach themselves to a wall or a tree and wait it out.

Most UK slug species are herbivorous, eating leaves, flowers, fruits, mushrooms, lichens and decaying plant material. Some, such as the Leopard slug, are carnivorous and hunt other slugs and snails.

There are four common species of slug: The Netted or Grey Field slug (Deroceras reticulatum), 3 - 5 cm long, is normally a light brown above, with a chain of darker veins and blotches, and pale with a darker central zone below. It is a pest in gardens as it feeds nearly all year round, mostly on seeds and plants above ground. The Common Garden slug (Arion distinctus/ Arion hortensis), 3 cm long, is brown and striped lengthwise, often with tiny gold spots, and with an orange or yellow underside. Attacks both leaf and root crops, and is a major pest of potatoes. The Common Keeled slug (Tandonia budapestensis), up to 6cm long, is black or grey with an yellow-orange ridge along its body, a pale underside and colourless mucus. It lives underground, feeding on newly drilled seeds such as potatoes. As it spends most of its time underground it is hard to control. The Large Red slug and Black slug (Arion ater) is either orange-red or black with an orange fringe. Despite it's size, up to 12cm, this species of slug is much less damaging than the other pest species. When alarmed, it contracts into a spherical shape and might rock from side to side.

CHARLBURY GARDENERS

Don't forget to check out the Charlbury Gardeners group. It's at https://www.facebook.com/groups/charlburygardeners/, it's public, and it's got 198 members. It's a place for chatting and sharing.

CONTRIBUTIONS & HELP

If you would like to contribute anything to the newsletter for the next month, please contact us. Photographs and short written articles would be welcomed.

We desperately need someone to join us on the publicity team. A knowledge of MailChimp desirable or a willingness to learn. To find out more contact Angela on: secretary@charlburygardensociety.org.uk