This week I honestly feel like all I do is battle against pests. It was crows in the chicken coop last weekend (my scarecrow proved not to be very effective after a few days, and the crows started stealing eggs again, so I’ve built a rustic looking run to attach to the hen house to keep them out) rabbits in the parsnip patch on Monday (cue putting up lots more chicken wire and crossing my fingers), flea beetles on Wednesday (grrr) and slugs ever since the rain started (feels like 3 or 4 weeks ago, but I think it’s actually only been a few days).
So, when my sister introduced me to a packet of “wool pellets” that she’d found in the garden centre I was really rather intrigued. They are approved for organic use by the Soil Association, they’re bio-degradable, they double up as a mulch and they work by creating a barrier between the slug and your plant. You put a 10cm barrier around the base of each plant that you want to protect and the slugs can’t get over it. Well, I was keen to give it a go and earlier in the week I dutifully put a good handful around the base of each of my remaining brassicas (I’ve had a few fatalities. Sad times.)
I am pleased to report that amazingly there has been no further nibbling by slugs. Or snails. As far as I can tell, my little brassicas are doing well and positively thriving now that nobody is eating them. I’m going to put in a good word for these wool pellets with the Rocket Gardens team and see if they might start stocking them!