Tatties 2017

Oh no, not more potatoes being pains in bums!

 

Think this bad boy was furtlised

 

Here was little miss me patting myself on the back for being quite successful with my 1st venture into Potato growing until today. Lifted some to go with the roast Lamb tonight and I now have a slug problem (insert whatever swear word you think appropriate as I have used all known to man). Not a sign of a slug until today and to be honest I don't have too big a problem with them in the garden normally. I don't like to use those blue pellets and have used beer traps in the past with so so results. These b.....s are obviously well down in the soil as it's the bigger spuds at a fair depth which now resemble Emmental.
As the ones I know are being attacked are Earlies, would I be best to lift what hasn't been munched and hope they keep or just leave in situ and hope the slimey so and sos leave us some?
I have main crop Potatoes which I haven't even looked at. Should I put down beer traps or am I fighting a loosing battle? For god's sake this gardening malarky feels more like a war at times rather than a relaxing pastime. Relaxing, turn your head for 5 minutes and something will have been eaten, dug up, broken or died on you! i'm off to pour myself a glass of something and no I don't mean orange juice. I know is only 4 o'clock but I don't care!

 

Ah, gutting for you :( are they the ones in the sacks? or are these in the ground? If the latter, I wouldn't chance it, pull them up and try to dry them off a bit. Inspect the main crops too just in case.. hope it's not all bad news for you

 

That'll probably be black keeled slugs, beer traps no good as they live in the soil, you need nematodes

 

Thank you @Linz . No the ones in the sacks got scoffed ages ago, these are in the ground. Amazing how a couple of glasses of wine make you not care too much that you home grown spuds now have more holes in them than a colander.. Surely the main crop ones won't be ready? Do you mean to have a bit of a furtle and see? perhaps the slugs won't go for them until they are ready . I'll be livid if they have had a go at my Pink Fir Apples as they are my all time favourite. If they have you'll hear the swearing all the way from East of Scotland to South Wales
I'll dig up the remaining Earlies tomorrow. Jeeees there are going to be an awful lot of Potato on the menu for the next wee while.

 

Where in the name of the wee man am I going to get nematodes from @Zigs . Are black Keeled slugs those enormous ones which grow to about 6 inches? I saw 1 of those on the driveway the other evening. I thought the flaming thing was a stick until it started moving and no I had not been at the Gin by then.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Slug-Nemat...501430581&sr=1-7&keywords=nematodes+for+slugs

Black keeled ones are only small, you must have seen a gin stick

 

£21.50 to get rid of my slug problem, hells teeth @Zigs I'm a canny Scott. Best get out the digging fork torch and thwacking stick.

 

Make sure it's the thwacking stick and not the other one

 

Brilliant @ARMANDII , there is only 1 slight error.......have you noticed pretty in pink a la me is doing sweet FA while the male of the species is all action man. I'd better not elaborate on my other half other than to say he likes model railways and steam trains (going trips on them and spending a lot of time in the bar) which = s not a mucky hobby and he uses hand cream.......need I say more.

 

£20 + or not I agree with Zigs nematodes are the way to go it was the only thing that saved my tomatoes
Rgds Sandy

 

Certainly 3 hail Mary's hasn't worked @ARMANDII and there has been no sign of divine intervention re solving my slug problem. It's been chucking it down from the heavens for the last 3 days which has only had the effect of INCREASING the slug population so words are being said to those "upstairs".