Snail Tales in my Vegetable Garden
I’m normally that laid-back gardener who is able to ignore the snails: live and let live.
Until yesterday.
I was cleaning out my living nursery, which has been more or less looking after itself all winter, and found SO many snails. They’ve munched their way through 90% of the Dahlias I carefully grew from seed, and have also decimated my precious Burdock Root. It’s time to take action.
I have a moral dilemma around killing them, and the only way I’ve been able to overcome it is to follow the advice of a friend who turns a few snails into a sludgy concoction and lets the sludge ferment all season, topping it up with water, and decanting a little off to dilute into a snail repelling spray.
Will it work? I have no idea.
What I do know is that there is NO WAY I’m going to buy snail bait from the garden centre, even if it says it’s organic. I’ll keep on experimenting until I find something that maintains a closed loop ecosystem.
Here’s what I did:
The last week or so I feel like I can almost hear the snails having a party among my flowers and vegetables. All that work!! I often get up and head outside to study the night sky and learn a few constellations, but last night, instead of mapping the stars by torch light, I walked around all my precious baby plants, picking the snails off. In just 10 minutes, I managed to collect about 20 of them. Instead of killing them, I placed them in a container filled with water and crystals (quartz crystal, rose quartz, and a few others), then sealed the lid. I must admit, I feel really bad about intentionally disposing of them, as I generally avoid harming animals.
The Plan:
My plan is to let the snails ferment in the container. Over time, they will release a liquid that I can decant and dilute. This liquid will hopefully serve as a natural spray to deter snails from the affected part of the garden. I’d like to also try using some of the fermented liquid into my potting mix, to see if that’s effective. To maintain the fermentation process, I’m planning to periodically top up the container with water.
Why I Like This Approach:
The reason I prefer this approach over the classic beer trap, where snails simply end up in the compost bin, is that I feel the snails I collected last night are going to serve a purpose. By utilizing their fermented liquid, I’m recycling their presence in a way that benefits my garden and avoids waste. Plus, I don’t buy beer.
Snails may be pesky when they start devouring our beloved vegetables, but there are ways to manage them without harming the soil. By taking a natural approach, like using fermented snail liquid, perhaps we can find sustainable solutions that promote a healthy garden ecosystem. So, the next time you encounter snails in your garden, consider giving this method a try. Remember, it’s all about finding a balance between coexistence and preservation.
I hope you found this post helpful and inspiring. If you have any questions or other pest management tips to share, please reach out at katrina@blueborage.co.nz.
Happy gardening!
Ideas for innovative edible gardening solutions using biodynamic methods to make ‘soil with soul’ is what New Zealand needs right now. For tips, advice and online courses go to www.blueborage.co.nz or get in touch by email at katrina@blueborage.co.nz
