Who hasn't dreamed of growing beautiful crunchy, delicious salads with lush foliage in their vegetable garden? But wait a minute, who are these unwanted guests feasting in your garden as if it were an all-you-can-eat buffet? Yes, you guessed it, they are our "friends" the slugs. These little nocturnal sliders can turn your harvest into lace in no time. So, how can you protect your salads from slug attacks without resorting to beer traps, nematodes, and other eggshells? Discover our two natural slug-repelling tips from gardeners to keep these little gluttons away from your greens. So, put on your gardening gloves and follow us to the garden!
1st tip: choose salads with colourful foliage
Did you think all salads looked alike? Think again! Besides varying the pleasures on your plate, opting for varieties of salads with colourful leaves can have an unexpected advantage: discouraging slugs. Indeed, salads with colourful leaves are often less appetising to slugs for several subtle reasons.
First of all, the texture of these purple leaves is generally tougher or thicker, making it harder for these little molluscs to chew and digest. While tender green foliage is easier for these little creatures to nibble on.
Next, the pigments responsible for the leaf coloration, such as anthocyanins in red or purple leaves, can have a natural repellent effect on slugs.
Finally, the colourful leaves provide less camouflage for slugs, which can increase their vulnerability to predators.
Thus, even though salads with colourful leaves are not completely immune to attacks, they are often less targeted by these creeping garden guests. Plus, it will brighten up your vegetable garden. This is what we call combining the useful with the pleasant, isn't it?
A (small) selection of our favourite red-leaf varieties
- The 'Lollo Rossa' lettuce is a frisée salad variety distinguished by its serrated leaves in vibrant colours, blending shades of green and purple-red.
- The beautiful 'Rossa di Trento' lettuce is an Italian variety characterised by its green leaves with dark red tips, almost burgundy, forming a compact and elegant rosette.
- The 'Grenadine' oak leaf lettuce is known for its lobed and undulating leaves, a beautiful garnet red that adds a splash of colour to any vegetable garden. Its flavour is sweet with a hint of nuttiness.
- The 'Palla Rossa' chicory, also Italian, is distinguished by its rosette of round, tightly packed leaves, a deep ruby red. Its slightly bitter flavour offers an interesting contrast in salads and Mediterranean dishes.
- The 'Red Salad Bowl' lettuce is an attractive variety with cut and frilled leaves, a bright orange-red colour. Its crunchy texture and sweet flavour make it a versatile choice to brighten up salads.
→ Also find all our salad varieties.
2nd tip: prune young salads
If you thought gardening was all about patience and gentleness, think again. Sometimes, you need to play the part of the slug to trick our dear salads!
When your salads and lettuces are still young, tender, and have only 4 to 5 leaves, take a few minutes to tear a few leaves by hand.
This will simulate a slug attack! Your young plant, thus assaulted, will be prompted to defend itself. Because your little green wonders have their own defence system! In response to this 'false attack', the lettuce will slightly alter its taste to become less attractive to slugs. This is what we call plant chemistry.
So, don't hesitate to play a little trick on your plants to help them protect themselves. You'll see, it's a tip that can save you many leaves!
→ Find more natural and conventional solutions in our article on combating slugs: "7 ways to fight effectively and naturally".
And to learn more about their life cycle, check out our article: "Slugs in the garden: understanding their life cycle to better manage them".
And you? What are your gardening tips for keeping slugs away? Feel free to share them in the comments.
Comments