Who scoffed me carrots?

[shiney]

OK, got the raised bed made. Put in the spring onions and carrots. Spring onions have 'sprung', carrots made a brief appearance. No slugs to be seen but lots of ants. The onions are still intact. But the carrots have gorn.

Who did the dirty deed and scoffed those babies? Was it the ants/woodlice?

Anyone know?

[Andy Hamilton]

OK, got the raised bed made. Put in the spring onions and carrots. Spring onions have 'sprung', carrots made a brief appearance. No slugs to be seen but lots of ants. The onions are still intact. But the carrots have gorn.

Who did the dirty deed and scoffed those babies? Was it the ants/woodlice?

Anyone know?

My allotment is covered in ants and woodlice but in general they only seem to eat the dead stuff.

[shiney]

Maybe they have discovered that carrot tops are pretty tasty things to eat.

[leedarkwood]

Wireworm? Slugs?, Or did they just get frosted, I lost a lot of runner beans earlier this week.

Lee

[shiney]

Definately not frost as they have a lid on at the moment. No trace of slug trails. I have hammered a length of copper around the edge of the raised bed to deter them. They don't like the verdigris that forms on copper so I am told. (I'll try anything!)

Don't know about wireworms. So that's a possibility.

[greenbean]

Hi Shiney, copper works for me, I am told it gets the slugs a slight electric shock, where I have copper there is no slug damage at all.

[shiney]

Oh at least I have some back up on the copper idea! I found some piping that my mum gave me after she had finished doing up her narrowboat. The piping had been sitting in the shed for a long time. Seemed a shame to waste it on slugs, but it was quite a small diameter.

Still, I must get on and plant some more carrots somewhere else. Wait until they are bigger then put them in the raised bed.

[Muddypause]

copper works for me, I am told it gets the slugs a slight electric shock, where I have copper there is no slug damage at all.

That's an interesting theory - I suppose it is possible for slug + copper in a solution of slug slime to make a sort of battery. Or maybe the copper simply reacts with slug slime and becomes unpleasant for a slug to be on.

I think I'll get my plumbing gear out and make a copper pipe edge to the top of my raised bed.

[Andy Hamilton]

maybe a hungry caterpillar?

[shiney]

A very hungry caterpillar. You could be right!

[couscous]

I lost all my early carrots this year too. Could have been slugs or might have just been through the very wet spring. I'm going to try and raise a few strips indoors now and when they have germinated and reached a decent size; slide them into the ground. Apparently pieces of guttering are good for this. Anyone got any spare guttering??

[shiney]

That's what we have done Couscous, I made a load of paper pots and planted a whole lot more. They have come on well and we have just planted some out, fingers crossed they'll survive.

I saw seedlings growing in guttering, when Tracey and I went to Hugh Fernley Wotsits place in Devon, to meet his admin team three months back. (River Cottage HQ) If he uses them, it must be a good idea!