Slug/Snail Solutions And My Discontents (part 2)

A quick search online will offer up many solutions for slugs. Here's a review of most of them - and my take on what makes the most sense.

In the first part of this article I discussed a rage of suggested slug/snail¹ solutions, and why they didn’t work for me. Here in part 2, I discuss what works for me.

The Weak and the Young

Think of your plants as gazelles, and your slugs as lions. Just like lions, slugs usually go after the weak and the young. Of course, lions prioritize the weak and young because they can’t run fast enough to get away; whereas slugs do this for different reasons. Young plants are more vulnerable because they have tender stems, no physical defenses like spiny hairs, and very little natural production of chemical pesticides (yes plants make their own), whereas with sick and weak plants (due to inadequate water, sun or nutrients) I think it is more the latter. Young plants need help (see below) - but for many, the vulnerability is temporary. To keep plants healthy, just make sure they have all the sun, water and nutrients that they need. It bears mentioning also that many transplants can be super vulnerable when first planted out due to the shock of cold soil and cold nights. I find this can be the case with peppers, for example, which are otherwise, fairly slug resistant.

Baby cucumbers are sitting ducks for slugs!

Resistant Plants

Some plants are completely slug-proof; some plants are slug proof at a certain stage of maturity; and some plants will take a little slug damage - but it really doesn’t meaningfully effect the quantity or quality of their yields. So for any of these plants - the slug intervention is irrelevant, because the plants themselves are really doing the work. Let me give some examples:

• I can’t speak to all varieties, all growing zones, or all contexts - but I find spinach to be very slug resistant. This is probably due to the high amounts of oxalic acid in this family of plants. I also find callaloo (a new crop for me this year) to be very slug resistant. Tomatoes are also slug-proof for the most part. I also find most alliums (onions/garlic/leeks) to be very slug resistant, as are parsnips and parsley in my experience.