The vegetable garden of the paresSundgau (lazy of the Sundgau)

[Did67]

This shows what the very popular "tips and tricks" are worth (internet, little guides which abound in bookstores) ...

You must first know that it is almost a must: the first year, the populations explode. The conditions are ideal for them: hay that maintains humidity, good and beautiful vegetables without poison ... And the predators are not there yet.

Normally, gradually, the auxiliaries arrive, settle down, prosper and ... regulate (they do not create a vacuum - no parasite eradicates what it eats; it would be suicidal).

It is therefore necessary to regulate in place of the system, at the beginning. Without ERADIQUER (otherwise, never auxiliaries!).

- plant larger plants; the heart is not always attacked, and they retapent
- I dig under the hay, around the attacked plants; they are not smart, they are just there, in the shade!
- physical means: bottles, donut mold (see Adrien's thread), possibly electric fencing
- control methods: I am not shocked by moderate use of Ferramol (do not add quantities: a granule every 10 cm in all directions is a good distribution); in severe situations, the use of means of "biocontrol" (parasitic nematodes "Phasmarabditis hermaphrodita - Ph) is possible - but expensive
- possibly, the collection (which I did in 2018, facing an invasion of orange slugs), by "fixing" them with wild lettuce (wilted leaf lettuce - put in the morning for a harvest of slugs in the evening); in my house, while there were cabbage or cute salad plants, 95% of the slugs were on the wilted lettuce (and indeed, it seems that the latex, as it dries out, turns into an opiate - like the latex of the poppy, dried, contains opium!).
- as soon as the season progresses, stop the fight, tolerate slugs under the leaves of the bottom of vegetables (cabbage, salads ...) where they do no damage - we do not eat them, but where they attract and feed all their predators; and the virtuous cycle begins; with your water points, you should quickly have hedgehogs, orvets; you will see beetles and staphylins ... Maintain tall grass (not mowed), grassy paths for these insects ...

Except particular situation: wetland, shade, shallows, this should gradually be regulated quite often. With always possible accidents - like at home in 2018. What had happened? I do not know ! It's the only year I've been bothered.

[cabbage]

Good evening Gui68, if your red legs come from the Vosges, maybe you know Mr. Franchauser, my 1st red legs came from the bottom too, from Sarreguemines exactly.
Moindreffort is right, if they do not like a place they will try to go out, I happened to see on the edge of a road several hundreds of meters from the smallest point of water, Louisiana reds (the worst)
It is better to start with grained females, so that the juveniles are born at home and will be less inclined to seek to flee.The red legs require fresh and pure water.
Good luck with your project.
A+

[phil53]

Last year I had a lot of slugs, this year it is less worse. Although there is no possible strip of grass around the plot, this year I have small black beetles arriving by flying I guess. I also have glow worms.
I put a lot of BRF with acorns and leaves.
I do not know if these elements are the cause of this decline in population.
In any case, it's nice to have fewer slugs.

[GuyGadebois]

Last year I had a lot of slugs, this year it is less worse. Although there is no possible strip of grass around the plot, this year I have small black beetles arriving by flying I guess. I also have glow worms.
I put a lot of BRF with acorns and leaves.
I do not know if these elements are the cause of this decline in population.
In any case, it's nice to have fewer slugs.

The increase or decrease in living populations around us is multifactorial. It mainly depends on man in the choice he makes to have a balance, or not (we can kill everything). But if he "lets nature take its course" he will find that, for slugs (your example), there are years with and years without. If their predators are numerous, their population decreases, and vice versa. If you protect your plantations "mechanically" (sand, ash, aquatic barrier, etc ...) they will do less damage, if you do not weed systematically, they will not eat what you want to keep and will also feed of "weeds", good for them. In years when there are a lot of toads, there are few slugs, for example. Unfortunately, amphibians are very sensitive to so-called "phytosanitary" products, as well as hedgehogs which greedily feed on gastropods as well as orvets which adore their eggs. Finally, it could be that as with all living beings, slugs can die from a microbe or a virus, which could be one of these factors and partly explain the fluctuations in their number. For BRF and acorns, I guess slugs don't like tannins, so, yeah, that can play out too.

[Did67]

I also have glow worms.

.

Ah, that’s good. They suffered severely from the destruction of their habitat and had become rare!

[Mistletoe68]

Excellent thank you for the answers!
1. Subject Slugs - I put the results of these tests with photos to show that the "we have always done like that" pollute the minds of people, in general and relieve them of reflection which is however very useful.
In my job, I fight daily (research and development) with colleagues who apply without understanding ... but in electronics ... but hey I quickly plunge my hands back into the earth ....

I am aware of the time constants for the balancing of biotopes, besides I think the part covered by hay in March this year does not contain more "pests" than that, I will use the covered test strip since November to help the establishment of auxiliaries for the whole vegetable garden. Invention: the end of a martyred vegetable garden ....

2. Crayfish subject, I chose this species with red legs because it is andemic, I fished one in the river behind two years ago, so I will not upset anything ... the "filter" has more for object to create a nursery, and to prevent the carp from biting the small crayfish, after that I will not dream and try to "control" again and again. I will focus more on improving the biotope to make them want to stay ...
Indeed, I implanted mallards on my pond five years ago, they were wings, all their descendants are flying, go in the river, come back on the pond. And come back all niches in nettles, hedges and thickets near my home, they have everything you need and stay put. The crayfish will react in a similar way ...
And yes I was thinking of buying grained crayfish and re-yes in the people you mentioned ...

3. Aphids, now a normal year for me, fishermen and elderberries undergo the installation of beautiful colonies of aphids, green for the first and black for the second, wild sorrel is now playing its role! I notice that the aphids on the elderberry are not raised by the ants as on the trees with stones in particular, it could be that the aphids do not reject a honeydew appealing for the ants when resulting from the sap of elderberry So ideal for ladybug eggs because less risk of destruction ...
Otherwise the presence of msznge is weak this year, isolated case?

[Moindreffor]

Otherwise the presence of tits is low this year, isolated case?

nice reflection for what I deleted from your message, for this point, for the birds, you will have to help them, their great disappearance is mainly due to a lack of nest boxes, I installed one last spring, it was hopelessly empty, but this year a couple of blue tits found it to his liking, I must have installed it too late last year

next nesting box, a colony nesting box for sparrows (birds not tomatoes )

[Doris]

The tits came back en masse this year, wow, 2018 and 2019, there were almost none while I have not changed anything, as many nest boxes as before etc.

[Moindreffor]

The tits came back en masse this year, wow, 2018 and 2019, there were almost none while I have not changed anything, as many nest boxes as before etc.

you have to clean them every year, but I think you know that

[Did67]

I notice that the aphids on the elderberry are not raised by the ants as on the trees with stones in particular, it could be that the aphids do not reject a honeydew appealing for the ants when resulting from the sap of elderberry So ideal for ladybug eggs because less risk of destruction ...

This had escaped my observation, but now that you say it !!!

It is a specific species of aphids: does it not lend itself to rearing by ants? Or is it the elderberry which has a repellent action for ants ??? I do not know.

But is it still that it reinforces my conviction that an elderberry is essential near a vegetable garden!