WHAT a difference a month makes.

Last month I wrote about the possibility of drought conditions and the challenges of growing vegetables in dry conditions.

The old adage be careful what you wish for has come true. Now, after four weeks of wet and cool weather, the lack of germination by some crops has meant a re-sowing of carrots and beetroot but I will wait a little longer before doing the same for the parsnips.

And the other problem related to an extended wet spell is, of course, the damage caused by slugs and snails. They just love newly-planted lettuces and emerging beans and dahlias in particular. I have always said the allotment has to take care of itself when I am not there, so there is no question of going out after dark and hand picking them off my precious vegetables as I do at home. I am currently trialling barriers made from oatflakes and polenta (apparently polenta makes them bloated and they die but I have no proof), around the lettuces and diversionary tactics with comfrey. Beer traps do work but in wet weather they are not very practical.

Piles of cut comfrey leaves have been left at the edge of the bed sacrificially in the hope they will congregate and eat that rather than my produce.

Time will tell.

At home, I take no slug or snail prisoners, they are mercilessly killed even though I know they play an important part in a garden’s eco-system as part of the food chain for hedgehogs, frogs and toads, but I am sure the ones I miss provide more than enough fodder.

There are many methods of organic slug control, cloches made from drink bottles around young transplants, barriers of copper tape around pot plants, deterrents such as crushed eggshells or coarse grit but, best of all, a spell of dry warm weather will help keep the slugs at bay.