Tatties and keel slugs?????????

[Snadger]

About 25% of my maincrop tatties were affected by keel slugs last year! It WAS virgin soil which hadn't been cultivated for numerous years so that could have accounted for some of them?
I reckon they wouldn't like coarse sand on there slimy bodies so just wondered if grapes who garden on a sandy loam are much affected?
I think carrots will thrive on a sandy loam as well and I have access to course sand (no I don't live near to a beach!) so I may try incorporating sand into my proposed potato bed!

[Glasshousevirgin]

not sure I would recognise a keel slug when it looked my way but it was a terrible year for all Gastopods last year on my allotment. Well correction it was good for them and not myself until I belatedly got a dose of Nemaslug by mail order and it worked a treat. After month they were in retreat.
I plan to dose the allotment again in Spring and again later in season with a view to limitation in 2008.

[Snadger]

not sure I would recognise a keel slug when it looked my way but it was a terrible year for all Gastopods last year on my allotment. Well correction it was good for them and not myself until I belatedly got a dose of Nemaslug by mail order and it worked a treat. After month they were in retreat.
I plan to dose the allotment again in Spring and again later in season with a view to limitation in 2008.

Nice one GHV! Was the Nemaslug cheap?

[Glasshousevirgin]

well it cost me £12.95 incl postage I think but in balance;
1) it worked and increased my yields
2) less toxic
3) and over the season I could have spent just as much on other deterrents and the like

additionally I tried beer and just clearing them off by hand but couldn't keep up with them especially the little ones which hid in the soil and did their damage at night.

[Snadger]

.............especially the little ones which hid in the soil and did their damage at night.

You see, you DO know what a keel slug looks like!

[Snadger]

well it cost me £12.95 incl postage I think but in balance;
1) it worked and increased my yields
2) less toxic
3) and over the season I could have spent just as much on other deterrents and the like

additionally I tried beer and just clearing them off by hand but couldn't keep up with them especially the little ones which hid in the soil and did their damage at night.

Do the nematodes die out over Winter then? Do you have to re- apply every year?

[Glasshousevirgin]

I do it seems but not by a specific name - thanks for that.
The nematodes main effect last for about 6 weeks according to the product info. I would imagine they survive in lower numbers but die when Winter sets in as I think it needs to be about 5C minimum. Worth noting is metaldehyde pellets are not effective below 7C either.
I got a pack to cover 40M sq but you can get them for 100M too as well as different nematodes to control vine weevil, chafer grubs etc

[Cutecumber]

Snadger - if I were you, unless you have very heavy soil which needs its drainage improving, I wouldn't add loads of sand.

I have very light sandy (& stony) soil and I get no underground slugs, but it is impossible to keep it moist, even in very wet seasons. Potatoes grow in it, but they need a lot of watering, constantly. I don't get big crops of anything despite regular applications of garden compost.

If you have underground slug problems, I would go for the Nemaslug before you try and "lighten" the soil.

[Snadger]

Snadger - if I were you, unless you have very heavy soil which needs its drainage improving, I wouldn't add loads of sand.

I have very light sandy (& stony) soil and I get no underground slugs, but it is impossible to keep it moist, even in very wet seasons. Potatoes grow in it, but they need a lot of watering, constantly. I don't get big crops of anything despite regular applications of garden compost.

If you have underground slug problems, I would go for the Nemaslug before you try and "lighten" the soil.

I have 'silty soil' which stays slimy and has very little courseness to it. I have added organic matter, and this helps but I still feel it needs to be grittier. I won't add vast amounts but I will try adding some to certain areas as an experiment!
It's nice to know though that my hypothesis was right,as I didn't think slugs would prosper in sandy/gritty soil!

[Two_Sheds]

It's nice to know though that my hypothesis was right,as I didn't think slugs would prosper in sandy/gritty soil!

We live next to the North Sea ... we get as many slugs as the next man (but they don't like beach sand being poured on them )