2024 - What I sowed today

Carrots in a polytunnel. Previous sowing either didn't come up or met a slimy end. The slug population in the garden this year seems about infinite for all practical purposes. If I lift a brick, piece of cardboard or wood I must have killed hundreds this spring and still small plants regularly disappear.

The orange Spanish slug has been an absolute menace here this year and over winter. In previous years most of the damage has been from the three-band slug. The three-band is smaller but appears in larger numbers, whereas the orange does more damage and eats absolutely everything. I'm probably not going to bother growing spring cabbage anymore since they get so infested, even with nematodes and numerous applications of sluggo. Warmer, wetter winters means the slug population isn't reduced by hard frosts and they remain active all winter.