Slaters (also known as roly polys) are land-living crustaceans that commonly feed on decaying matter and help to build soils. So while they can be considered friendly under many circumstances, in certain conditions when their food sources are scarce, they can turn their attention to your young seedlings. Sometimes it's just a matter of a seedling being in the wrong patch at the wrong time.
This is purely an exercise in patience, something that by late spring - if the weather has failed to recognise what the calendar is telling us all - we have very little of.
There's a number of variables that can push it back. Did we propagate our tomato seedlings too late? Are our broad beans a little slow to produce? Is the weather a complete shit show of emotions and can't work out what season it is?!
Whether it's due to discretion, exaggeration or otherwise, the origins of our prized tomato seeds tend to boarder on urban myth. The "special ones" you picked up from your neighbour's brother in law (who purportedly imported them from the volcano soils of Sicily back in the 50's) seem to grow bigger and taste better over time. Of course, that could just be Darwinism at work, but some part of us feels it's related to the "I got the best bloody tomato" battle that's be raging since the beginning of the veggie patch.
So we decided to chat to a few local dealers and ask how they came across their favourite seeds, and then most importantly, how they go about growing them each season.
Snails and slugs are both from the mollusc family that once belonged in an aquatic environment. Although they have evolved into the annoying land-crawling creatures they are today, it gives us some clues as to which conditions they prefer.
For a snail or slug or snail to move, it needs to produce a slime that it can then drag its disgusting slimy self over. This leaves behind a silky slime trail, which many moons ago we'd wake up to in our sharehouse living room. Other than sharehouse rugs, snail and slugs prefer the young, tender growth of your seedlings and are most active when conditions are damp. These night feeders tend to be gregarious and return to the same resting place. While snail shave a protective shell, meaning they feel a little safer out in the open (as opposed to under my lowering boot), slugs don't enjoy the same protection and will burrow into the soil for shelter.
Hand pollination is one of those tasks that feels a little naughty. Check out the video.
