[TonyTee]

Hi Everybody! It seems we're all having problems with slugs. I believe the Ferric iron phosphate pellets only seem to affect the larger slugs. My main trouble is with the very small ones. I've tried lime and various other substances which do help but they are not the answer. I've just bought some collars impregnated with copper. Expensive but I'll try anything. Any results from anyone?
Since compost is now mainly peat free (and I've tried most of them) I find the multi-purpose composts tend to have a PH of about 5 or less and are too acidic for most purposes. I've tried mixing with John Innes with some success but in desperation I'm using ordinary garden soil with liquid feed mixed in. I suppose I'll get more weeds than flowers!

[Hampshire Hog]

I don’t think the ferric pellets are as effective as the old version.
One thought have you considered using nematodes.

[Subversive_plot]

Since compost is now mainly peat free (and I've tried most of them) I find the multi-purpose composts tend to have a PH of about 5 or less and are too acidic for most purposes. I've tried mixing with John Innes with some success but in desperation I'm using ordinary garden soil with liquid feed mixed in. I suppose I'll get more weeds than flowers!

Try mixing some pulverized or pelleted limestone into that compost.  Trial some proportions (maybe start with 1 volume pulverized limestone to 20 volumes of compost) to see what produces good growth. Adjust the ratio up or down and see what works?  Unless you have a really good (expensive) pH meter, I would not worry too much about measuring pH.

[coldandwindy]

Hi Everybody! It seems we're all having problems with slugs. I believe the Ferric iron phosphate pellets only seem to affect the larger slugs. My main trouble is with the very small ones. I've tried lime and various other substances which do help but they are not the answer. I've just bought some collars impregnated with copper. Expensive but I'll try anything. Any results from anyone?
Since compost is now mainly peat free (and I've tried most of them) I find the multi-purpose composts tend to have a PH of about 5 or less and are too acidic for most purposes. I've tried mixing with John Innes with some success but in desperation I'm using ordinary garden soil with liquid feed mixed in. I suppose I'll get more weeds than flowers!

Hi Tony, welcome to the forum.

I garden somewhere very damp & slugs and snails are a big issue here. After many years of trying all the remedies I have come to the conclusion that the only good way of beating slugs is to use all the methods, all the time, all at once!

I find buying slug-resistant varieties to be very helpful, especially when it comes to potatoes. 
I grow native trees and hedges and leave a rough edge of wild flowers round the margins, to attract slug-eaters. A wildlife pond helps massively too, if you have space.
Ferric phosphate seems to work more slowly than the older, toxic stuff. I get some benefit from it if I sprinkle a bit down a week before planting up an area of the plot, so it has time to do a bit of a clear out before the tasty plants arrive. I use a bit at a time & renew it regularly because it seems to go mouldy quickly.
Harden plants off well before putting them in the danger zone. If you have spare seedlings to sacrifice put them at the edge without hardening off, surrounded by some pellets.
Hand picking slugs at night has great benefits if you happen to be a patient insomniac. If you have a strong stomach don't remove them, just keep a pair of slug scissors for the job & chop them in half & drop them where they are. Much faster and that way you will feed & encourage slug-eaters.
Leave a big flat stone, slate or plastic sheet on the ground near plants that are getting eaten. Look under it each morning. Slugs don't move far from their food source to sleep out the day.
Whatever other methods you know of, do them as well not instead of other methods.
Good luck,

Windy
 

[missmoneypenny]

“You’ll encourage slug eaters” . That includes other slugs! Sadly I’ve never seen a bird go for a slug, maybe hedgehogs go for them but sadly I don’t think we have any on our plot. I do keep scissors handy to snip them in half, I crush them underfoot, use pellets and kill them with rocks. I know I’m coming across like a maniac now, so I’ll add that sometimes when I can’t face killing another mollusc, I’ll put a load of them in a bag and “ release” them on wasteland nearby.

[coldandwindy]

“You’ll encourage slug eaters” . That includes other slugs! Sadly I’ve never seen a bird go for a slug, maybe hedgehogs go for them but sadly I don’t think we have any on our plot.

You are thinking too big!
Birds , ( especially thrushes) eat snails in huge numbers but if its specifically slugs you're thinking of you need to attract frogs, toads, centipedes, and ground beetles.
W

[TonyTee]

Since compost is now mainly peat free (and I've tried most of them) I find the multi-purpose composts tend to have a PH of about 5 or less and are too acidic for most purposes. I've tried mixing with John Innes with some success but in desperation I'm using ordinary garden soil with liquid feed mixed in. I suppose I'll get more weeds than flowers!

Try mixing some pulverized or pelleted limestone into that compost.  Trial some proportions (maybe start with 1 volume pulverized limestone to 20 volumes of compost) to see what produces good growth. Adjust the ratio up or down and see what works?  Unless you have a really good (expensive) pH meter, I would not worry too much about measuring pH.

I am no chemist (O level) but I am reliably informed adding lime to soil to increase the pH is a very slow process. I agree entirely that pH meters if cheap, are unreliable, however the acidic nature of the soil can be easily determined when your plants won't grow in the compost! Some years ago an English tabloid researched the fertility rate of small retail packed seeds. They covered all the big names and found that the fertility rate amongst all the producers was only about 40%! So it seems to me there's a big question mark over present day composts and possibly the seeds that we purchase, so when things don't work out we tend to blame ourselves for our failures. I am at present trialling a Coir mix with my compost in various proportions.

[Subversive_plot]

Be sure to rinse coir in several changes of fresh water, unless you absolutely know it has been thoroughly rinsed to clear it of salt. Coir is from coconut palms (husk), so is naturally high in salt.

[coldandwindy]

Since compost is now mainly peat free (and I've tried most of them) I find the multi-purpose composts tend to have a PH of about 5 or less and are too acidic for most purposes.

What method are you using to measure pH? Which brands have you tried?

Just wondering if your meter is out since you seem to be consistently coming up with results that differ from what most manufacturers state. Going peat-free wouldn't in itself lower pH, as peat has a pH of 3 to 4 whereas coir is about 6 -7. Some cheaply made composts have low pH because anaerobic production can be involved . If you find yourself with one of these  you could add lime (which works straight away if you use the right sort by the way) but I'd just avoid the cheap makes.
You'll get better germination with seed compost than with multipurpose because of the finer texture and lower nutrients but mine seem to manage fine with multipurpose that's been sieved.   

 With a few exceptions seeds germinate best in mildly acid to neutral compost. If you want to know what they say their own pH is, each company will have a safety information which will include ph for example this is the one for the Miracle Gro multipurpose which I use if I run out of home made. The pH is 6 . https://www.lovethegarden.com/sites/default/files/content/products/documents/spec_sheets/UK_119760_MG_msds.pdf 

There are loads of published recipes for your own composts. Everyone has their own favourite.  Edited to add - in fact I feel a thread coming on.. https://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=137580.0   

[Subversive_plot]

Since compost is now mainly peat free (and I've tried most of them) I find the multi-purpose composts tend to have a PH of about 5 or less and are too acidic for most purposes.

... "Going peat-free wouldn't in itself lower pH, as peat has a pH of 3 to 4 whereas coir is about 6 -7. Some cheaply made composts have low pH because anaerobic production can be involved . If you find yourself with one of these  you could add lime (which works straight away if you use the right sort by the way) but I'd just avoid the cheap makes" ...

Agree on the right sort of lime. Pulverized lime, or pelleted (which is usually pulverized, put pressed into pellets with a binding agent to allow better spreading), will usually act more quickly, as more surface area is exposed for chemical reaction.