how can I protect recently sown peas?

[madmum]

I have sown some Feltham First peas and the shhots are about 5-10 cm tall so far. they seem to be a target for all the slugs in the area, they have been sown in a bit pot so are moveable.
Any ideas on how to protect them from slugs and snails?

[madmum]

[john_miller]

Coffee grounds are reputed to deter slugs. Can you stand the pot in a tray with some soil in it and spread slugs on the soil surface?

[PREMTAL]

Hi Madmum,
                    I use 1/2 litre square Volvic water bottles with the ends cut off, using this method my pea seedlings never suffer damage. ;D

See my post Produce/Edible Plants/Re: Clubroot /July 7 2005. ;)

                                                     PREMTAL :)

[Icyberjunkie]

If you have an old wire mesh tray (eg BBQ or grill  tray) stand that just off ground on some bricks or something and place the pots on that.  Works for all my plants presumably cos the slugs don't like or can't crawl across the narrow wire.

Iain

[madmum]

I'm going to cover the peas with old volvic bottles, surround them with coffee grounds and stand them on my old BBQ tray, that way there's NO WAY that I coould loose any more of them to slugs.
Thanks for all of the advice, I really will use it all cos I can't pick just one to try.

[Roy Bham UK]

Or smear Vaseline round the middle of the pot, I say middle because if round the rim it's messy to touch and may slip through your fingers another I've heard is a spray of WD40 ;D

[madmum]

Hi Roy
I have heard about using WD40 before too, does this affect the plant? I would imagine that it's pretty toxious stuff.
Would like to keep everything I grow chemical free if possible.

[Roy Bham UK]

:o Oops! sorry didn't explain that very clear, use WD40 on the pot not on the plant :o ;D

[Columella]

Some of these "Remedies" are pretty hit and miss.

I suspected my old lady was "At It".

So I surrounded her with coffee grounds & volvic bottles, even tried putting her on a BBQ-style wire mesh grid....

Some slug still made it through and had it away with her.
But the fact is that my Old Lady was a slug-magnet anyway & I am GLAD she's legged it... I have the Garden after all!!

The moral is: nature WANTS useless nonsense to
be eaten up by the bugs, and we hoers and sowers should enjoy this sparkling aspect of life....

Col.

[daveandtara]

 :-\
copper tape seems to work, well, i say copper tape but we couldn't afford that so we pulled apart copper scouring pads (16 for a quid) to make a barrier round pots and delicate plants.
think steve mcqueen in the great escape!
as an experiment we put them round half our kohl rabis. now i wish i'd had more faith as those without copper barriers are gone without trace and those with are perfect.
as for vaseline v wd40, i find wd40 is absorbed by poros pots and tends to wash off of glazed ones. vaseline (unnamed petroleum jelly from chemist is cheaper) lasts longer and is too thick to be absorbed. also, you can put it on babies so must be non-toxic.
good luck,
Tara xx