I'm an eco-friendly grower - so why do I want to murder all these vile slugs? | Claire Ratinon

The warm winter and wet spring spawned a mollusc army. Now they've invaded my brassicas, I'm at war with my conscienceIt's the beginning of summer, yet as I type these words, I'm watching sheets of rain coming down at an angle as my chickens cower under their hen house. Aside from a few gloriously sunny days, it feels like the rain hasn't stopped since the middle of last autumn. While most of my plants appreciate the moisture, the wetter than usual weather has led to some issues in my veg patch.Our heavy clay soil is more compacted than ever and the slugs and snails now reign, busily mowing down the young plants I raised from seed and entrusted to the veg beds. They came for the lettuces first, which didn't survive their first night in the soil. Then they came for the brassicas - the radishes, the kohlrabi and the red Russian kale - stripping their leaves back to the scrawny mid-rib, destroying the centre so there was no chance of them growing back. After I convinced myself that they wouldn't go for strong flavours, they devoured the coriander and dill seedlings that I'd planted, too. All the crops that I'd hoped to be harvesting by now are nowhere to be seen.Claire Ratinon is an organic food grower and writer Continue reading...