Here's a pic of the first pumpkin to dry off. As you can see it's been lying on the ground rather than on the trellis and the damage you can see is down to slaters. A lot of stuff you read will tell you they're harmless and they only eat decaying vegetable matter. This just isn't true once the population gets out of control. And if you're an organic gardener who uses plenty of mulch it doesn't take long for this to happen. I haven't found an organic way to keep their numbers down but when I do I'll let you know. Any advice out there would be appreciated too. I've tried using orange halves as traps but all these seemed to do was attract ants. Those blue snail pellets work but I don't really like using them.
As this is the first pumpkin to be picked and I'm not going to store it it's no big deal. Roast pumpkin for dinner tomorrow!
As you can see they have also chewed the stems of my zucchini. The zucchinis are still going but their growth isn't what it should be.
hungry slaters! looks like you gave them a good feed ...
ReplyDeleteI know!I need to find a way to bring their numbers down. some sort of organic massacre is in order. Hope all's well in the Melbourne veggie patch.
ReplyDeleteGraham, can you lift the pumpkins? Others have suggested beer traps instead of oranges. Good for earwigs too apparently, if they are an issue for you. We loved our chooks in Canberra - they ate every little bug possible!
ReplyDeleteThanks Marge. Sorry it's taken so long to publish your comment. The pumpkin shown was one of the few that were lying on the ground, most were up in the air on the wires. I'll try those beer traps.
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