Countryside

[Cloud]

There seems to me,after growing veg in the countryside and now growing in a city that both present totally different problems.
When growing veg in the country we never had to worry about slugs and aphids,probaly due to the abundance of natural widlife such as thrushes[loads of em],other native birds,hoverflies,ladybirds,hedgehogs.frogs ect.
We had big problems with wireworm and pesky pigeons and also rabbits.
Since moving to the city the pests that I deal with are almost the opposite.Aphids and slugs[loads of em]Cats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Still got pesky pigeons.
The amount of predators is minimal such as the odd thrush,a few hoverflies and Cats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I,ve also seen a few ladybirds and quite a few sloworms.
I don't know which I prefer,probaly the country because there a lot less Cats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Headfry]

I am very much in the country and we have thousands of snails and slugs..... and the aphids.....

I wonder if if could be down to the soil type and amount of damp weather.
Oxfordshire is a damp place, nice as we get so many wild flowers.
The part of Essex where I came from was very, very dry, and had few slugs and snails......very few wildflowers too

Wish garden centers would label plants that are more slug and snail resistant! It really would help

Maybe the GYO magazine could do a feature on veg that will stand up to the a little better?

[Two_Sheds]

Maybe the GYO magazine could do a feature on veg that will stand up to the (pests) a little better?

trouble is, you're growing food ~ it's not just food for humans! The very thing that we like (sweetness, tender leaves) is just what slugs and aphids like.
You'll find that mature plants suffer less, which is why gardeners grow veg in cell trays instead of direct sowing ... the plants withstand a bit of chewing a whole lot better when they have a head start on the pests.