brassicas V slugs - going for gold (well, green)

[BroadRipple]

Hello grapes -hope you're all well and gardening happily. I've been away and garden has gone bionic, yet with mysteriously little to harvest. Only thing looking good is my kale (yes far too many kinds as usual) which are now in phase 2 - 10 cm-ish pots. But like all of you the moluscs are staging a takeover - it's Jurassic Park out there. So my question for the experts is this: does it really make sense to pot them on again (yes fine roots coming through holes at bottom) if I can find enough bigger pots, and try and get them to practically shrub size before I risk a slugfight at the OK Corall?
Or leave them in the pots until they're more desperate?
Or plant them out and wave goodbye (esp. as my space has been taken over by tromboncino leaves, providing handy slug-cover)?
Thank you all.

[greenishfing]

How big are the plants? I grew mine outdoors in the soil and some got eaten. I put the survivors in there final spacings 3 weeks ago. They seem to be doing okay. No damage to speak of.

[kathyd]

I planted mine out when really quite small, under debris netting, and surrounded by slug pellets. Most are fine apart from the red russian which for some reason seems to be particularly attractive to slugs, which I've discovered burrow right into the stalks at ground level, slime the centre of the plant to death and eat the leaves, leaving nothing but a gooey stump behind them. But extra pellets seem to have halted that for now... (hope I've not tempted fate by saying that!). They even left the other, smaller plants alone in favour of the bigger red russian, so I'm not sure that size IS everything with slugs!

[BroadRipple]

Kathyd, I'm a Red Russian fan too - any other faves? Oh Kale, I love you...
Sorry, distracted. I think they're probably a bit titchy to risk in the bed, so might pot on some of them to help them brave the big world. Now am worried I'll be the kale equivalent of those parents who keep their kids with long curly hair and baby-names until they're thirty.

[Florence Fennel]

You're not alone BR. It's my 4th attempt at bras' and I'm wrapping them in cotton wool (figuratively speaking of course). I have potted on into flower buckets and the plan was to grow them on until they're robust enough to plant in the beds, but they look too good to give to the snugs (particularly the lovely bright green curly kale) so I'm giving them another couple of weeks.

[Llamas]

After loosing several rounds of pole beans to the little sh**s, I went a bit mad with the brassica sowing. I also love having a whole selection of kale and broccoli to look forward to and so I've been scattering my plants of varying degrees of size and pot-boundness in several different beds, each liberally scattered with slug pellets, coffee grounds, empty orange halves and eggshells. Not really the universal soloution, but for what it's worth, my severly starved and pot-strangled red russian has recovered it's extreme neglect and seems to be growing well enough to withstand the few kamakize slugs which make it past the minefield I've created.

[BroadRipple]

Thank you FloFen (to her friends) and Llamas...glad to hear am not alone. Am running out of compost in which to pot them, and pots, and at this rate the survivors are going to be tree-sized, but i am NOT letting those slugs have a chance. damn them.
Which kales are you all growing? xBR

[Llamas]

Cavolo nero, siberian and red russian. I'll also be whacking in some spring cabbages to keep the plot looking like something is going on in those dark and dreary winter months.

[Florence Fennel]

I had some Nero seedlings in modules as well as the bog standard curly green, but guess what? Yep, the snugs have grazed them to stalks when my back was turned. The stuff I'm growing on is in danger of becoming pot bound, so I'll be potting them on again this weekend. Like BroRip (friend ) I am determined these are going to make it.

[BroadRipple]

is my new name BroRip? i love it...sound cool, for the first time in my life. practically a skateboarder.
ok calm down.
FloFen, my dear friend, would happily send you some of my ridiculous number of seedlings but i fear they'd pop their clogs on the way...what do you think?
Llama, what's Siberian like? I love a bit o' Red Russian too. Want to try a couple of odder ones this year but theyr'e hard to find aren't they...any tips, brassicoids?

[Florence Fennel]

Yo Bro The bog standard curly green kale was lovely and healthy in the large pots. I planted it out and within 2 days, despite grit and slug pellets, they too were reduced to stalks. I'm sowing some more Nero this evening in the hope that it's not too late. Thank you for your kind offer, but as you say, the seedlings would probably perish in the post.

[BroadRipple]

Yo Flo - hot DAMN re: the kale. Poor you. if we could work out a way though I'd happily send.