Raised beds & pest control

[tremone]

Just wondering what peoples views are on the merit of raised beds to prevent slug & snails having such an easy ride, you could make the sides rough(egg shells). Of course this does nothing against the white butterfly and other airborne predators but at least some are dealt with. I just started a small patch this year to see if stuff would grow rather than taking the whole plot and to my suprise it wasn't bad, onions were especially good but the damn slugs & snails took their toll on my cabbages & lettuce, and every organic way to get rid of them is piss poor, but now for next year it's time to expand and i'm trying to figure out if raised beds are the way to go, any thoughts appreciated.

[digiveg]

I think raised beds are generally a great idea, but will make no difference at all to slug and snail invasions. There are some good suggestions in the 'hints, tips and problems' section - see 'electric slug fence'.

I've had some limited success with coffee grounds, but a) rain or even heavy dew means start again, and b) I would be airborn if I drank enough coffee to completely take care of the problem that way.

[hedgewizard]

Digi - contribute to the "three things about you" thread! Please!

Nope, raised beds are no defence, and slugs and snails can hide in the joints of the wood and supports. The best thing you can do to get their numbers down is to have practically no organic debris near the beds, then they should mainly stay out where the food is. Better than that even is to get a duck or two provided you choose a slug-loving breed!

Somebody, I think it was Muddypause, was experimenting with a copper piping edge to his beds. You could ask him to chip in here to see how it went.

[Muddypause]

Somebody, I think it was Muddypause, was experimenting with a copper piping edge to his beds. You could ask him to chip in here to see how it went.

I thought I'd already replied to this thread - I guess I forgot to click the Submit button. Anyway, I meant to say something like this:

I have quite a tall raised bed that occupies most of the back garden - it's about 6' x 8' x 18" high, and I put copper plumbing tube all the way around the top edge. There's a picture of it on some other thread somewhere - do a search to find it.

I've not seen a single slug in the bed all year, but it has to be said that I've not seen a single slug anywhere in the whole garden all year, and I don't really know why. The small amount of remaining 'grass' got well trampled and pretty much obliterated when I made the raised bed, so there may not have been enough succulent greenery around to attract the slugs earlier. But lately there is quite a lot of stuff both in and around the bed - yet still no slugs. It's spooky.

There was no shortage of them last year, and I've not done anything else to deter them this year. But I guess that means I can't really draw any conclusions about the copper just yet.

[Christine]

I have three bath tubs on the allotment, standing on carpet and containing (until recently)rocket, leeks and broccoli . Now, since it's not been cultivated for several years, the slug problem is nothing like as bad as it is in my garden, for instance but I saw not one single snail or slug in the tubs. My theory is that the carpet deters them from travelling over to the baths and the lip around the baths makes it harder for them still.

I'm going to try this again next year, and I might even add to the tub population (plenty available from skips)

[supersprout]

Hi there, I'm a newbie here
My plot is arranged in beds, and unlike my plottie neighbours I don't have a slug problem (touches copper pipe). Perhaps this is because there are no edges to the beds for a slug hotel?

[Shirley]

Hi Supersprout!! Great name :)

Welcome to the forum!

Glad to hear that you are keeping the slugs at bay!

[supersprout]

Thank you for the welcome shirlz

[Andy Hamilton]

yep :welcomeish:

I think that next year it will be time for an experiment, half rows and half beds and see what happens.

[hedgewizard]

I'm doing that too - but not out of a desire to experiment, but because I found digging the potatoes in the raised beds a pain in the arse. Definitely a no-dig thing, raised beds.

So my eight raised beds will be joined by a long row to make nine beds carved up into a three year rotation, and the pots will be grown in a separate three year rotation with the two strawberry plots. I think. I'll have to draw a diagram because even thinking about it is making my little brain hurt.

Things that hated the raised beds; potatoes (a pain to dig, and difficult to keep well watered in this sandy soil)
Things that liked them; carrots, parsnips, onions, shallots, peas, beans. All seemed to get a boost from the extra air and light.

[hedgewizard]

I'm doing that too - but not out of a desire to experiment, but because I found digging the potatoes in the raised beds a pain in the arse. Definitely a no-dig thing, raised beds.

So my eight raised beds will be joined by a long row to make nine beds carved up into a three year rotation, and the pots will be grown in a separate three year rotation which includes one of the two strawberry plots each time round. I think. I'll have to draw a diagram because even thinking about it is making my little brain hurt.

Things that hated the raised beds; potatoes (a pain to dig, and difficult to keep well watered in this sandy soil)
Things that liked them; carrots, parsnips, onions, shallots, peas, beans. All seemed to get a boost from the extra air and light.