[NorthEastJoy]

Hello all...

I live surrounded by arable fields and LOTS of weeds I think they keep there for game birds, so I'm in a constant 24/7 battle with all manner of pests; especially millions of slugs and snails, as well as loads of birds and the rest.

I have to spend most of my time and money trying to protect my veg (esp. the seedlings) and even still I can never win and always lose a lot of my crops.

I'm fed up of it now and can't afford it either... so please could you tell me if you know of any varieties of veg I could grow that are unappetising to slugs and birds in particular? I live in the far North of England so they also need to be tough for the conditions.

They totally leave the weeds alone and only go for my veg (and then tell all their mates too), so if you know of any weed-like veg I could grow that they will leave alone I'd be very pleased.

I've tried growing a very wide variety of types of veg to see if any of them can thrive and survive constant attack with minimal defence/protection, but apart from potatoes and mooli I've had no luck with common varieties, so I wonder if there are less common varieties or older ones I could buy to try?

I hope you can offer some good suggestions. Thank you.

[Trillium]

I can't think of a single veg pests won't eat. I've heard of ones that'll even eat garlic.

Your best choice is to simply invest in debris netting. It's a heavy duty netting that keeps out slugs, butterflies, etc. Your garden will look a bit odd and not at all picture-book like, but you'll get food out of it which is the point.

DD swears by them, and many folk are learning the hard way that its better to have the ugly netting rather than ravaged crops.

[NorthEastJoy]

Your best choice is to simply invest in debris netting. It's a heavy duty netting that keeps out slugs, butterflies, etc. Your garden will look a bit odd and not at all picture-book like, but you'll get food out of it which is the point.

Hi. I thank you. Believe me I've tried EVERY form of pest defence there is, including many alternative things too, and my garden does look cr** as a result - I can't invest any more cash into defences and like I said I'm also fed up of the battle. Nets are okay to a point, but baby slugs are in the ground so it won't keep them out - plus I live in an extremely windy area and it regularly wrecks my garden, so there's a limit to the totality of netting I can use.

Mooli is a weed-like veg that all the pests totally ignore and I'd like to know if anyone knows of anything else like this I could try, because we can't only live on mooli and spuds! Thanks.

[mumofstig]

anything that tastes nice to us, tastes nice to the pests as well. It's a simple as that!

I think most of us resort to slug pellets or nothing much would get past seedling stage, safer to wildlife if used under nets of course.

If you are not going to net then you have to be prepared to lose a lot of veg to birds and to hand pick egg/caterpillars from brassicas.

[goose]

My husband has just asked why nothing ever attacks the courgettes...i think he is hoping that something will start to eat them soon as he is sick of them

[SUTTY1]

I'll probally regret saying this but never had a problem with bugs or birds (except chickens) on swiss/rainbow chard

[peapod]

I'll probally regret saying this but never had a problem with bugs or birds (except chickens) on swiss/rainbow chard

You WILL regret saying that, believe me. I said the same thing until this year (pigeons  ).

It is often a fighting battle to keep your veg wherever you are.  I use slug pellets and admit it freely.  I grow veg for me and not the snails.  Its a shame about the birdies, but I couldn't grow without them.  I would also advice (if you have the room) getting the seedlings off to as large and as healthy start as you can.  That way they stand a better fighting chance.

 Debris netting really is fab..as long as it is place correctly (not saying you havent but Ive had my moments with too low netting and too tall sprouts  ). A wind break made cheaply may help with netting and can look attractive too.

Although you are sick of spending money, these things do pay for themselves in the end. 

[ulsterfairy]

I feel 4 u. I've just taken over a neglected plot with lots of resident slugs and snails. I have had previous success from plant pots using oats they love them! The oats obviously don't fair well in rain and may encourage rodents! Also dunno if they do the soil any good. I have heard making a garlic tea (not sure how) to spray deters them! This 1 will try next year. Hope u have some success soon.

[savbo]

my two-pen'orth is that your lovely veg is a magnet in the midst of all the weediness...so 2 things to do?
- make things as diverse as possible (=mix things up) so the pests really have to search for the tasty bits
- offer some sacrificial crops (like cabbages you never intend to harvest, or lovely soft lettuces at the edge of you plot) so the pests concentrate there (and can be picked off?) rather than on the things you really want

[viettaclark]

My garden looks like a concentration camp with 3' chicken wire and bamboo stick fencing round everything to keep the hens out, various grades of netting draped over the top with stones to hold it down which SHOULD keep out birds, squirrels, cabbage whites and the fly and I use organic pellets and do hunts for slugs and snails. (Dead of night, with torch shining, patrolling like a prison guard!)
It's impossible to get into the beds to weed or pick! Some beds need to be open for bees which means if you crop rotate you need to shift the huge acres of netting to another bed....
Mind you, with the rampant mildew and the imminent prospect of blight I'm not sure there will be anything to pick!
Gird your loins everybody! Heavy rain tomorrow will mean those slimy things coming out of their hidey-holes to wreak havok again! Sprinkle those pellets!
I've found runner beans work well if you can plant them out quite tall and slug pellet. The birds leave them alone. Parsnips may get the odd slug nibble and I think carrot fly may have a go but they (and beetroot) seem ok. Swiss chard, perpetual spinach survive and not much attacks my leeks and garlic
Savbo's idea of sacrificial plants is good but the cabbages I left for the cabbage whites were ignored because they obviously prefer psb and spend all day trying to get in the netting (and succeeding)
Yes Mum. Should've sown up ALL the holes in the debris netting......
Well, am I broke and disillusioned? Hmmmmm...

[SUTTY1]

You WILL regret saying that, believe me. I said the same thing until this year (pigeons    ).

You might be right but i hope your wrong. Pidgeons are a big problem round here but they are also very tasty.

Cant we give NEJ some hope

For 6/7yrs i've had to net all my brassicas and many greens but the flying rats (and other pests) leave the chard alone.
Maybe they are just spoiled for choice on the surrounding plots

[arugula]

I'll probally regret saying this but never had a problem with bugs or birds (except chickens) on swiss/rainbow chard

Slugs eat the leaves here, especially on the white ones! 

[kermit]

We have a stream at the bottom of our garden so slugs galore.  No pigeons but plenty magpies. Best for la resistence has been garlic, chives, parsley, coriander, parsnips, shallots, Sutherland kale (fab!), beetroot and runners (if planted out big). I do use pellets but only organic ones. And sparingly. Chard also good but gets hammered by flee beetle.

Now if I could just sort out our weather patterns...