GARDENING
LIKE a squirrel and his nuts — or a builder with jobs — I tend to hoard, until, through a mixture of chance and timing, the most pertinent, or urgent subject, works its way to the top of my mental list.
It is rare one gets immediate attention but this query from Liz Jenkins, struck a chord.
She said: "I only have a small area in my garden where I grow veg but I am besieged by woodlice. I have a terracotta strawberry pot and have not managed to enjoy a single strawberry from it. The woodlice had them all. They eat everything.
I have a composter near the veg patch which is always swarming with them when I lift the lid. I don’t mind them in there but I do wonder if I am encouraging them and enabling them to thrive and perhaps I should get rid of the composter or place it elsewhere.
"I would really appreciate some advice about how to eliminate these problems (preferably organically!)"
Woodlice are very prawn like and while they have adapted to life on land and in their seemingly tough exo-skeletons, they are delicate little souls, relying on moisture to survive.
So, Liz, it would seem your composter is ideal.
You will probably find, though, that most in there are of the fungus-eating variety, feasting on the mould in the first stage of decomposition.
Some are specialised compost bugs which only eat fungus and cause no problems for the organic grower, being an integral part of composting.
So, don’t move the composter, just yet…
Others will also attack soft plant tissue, such as gnawing through the stems of young seedlings, which is the chief way they antagonise organic gardeners. That, and munching their way through ripe strawberries, peaches and the rest...
You can tell them apart by checking their ability to roll into a ball — compost woodlice can’t, whereas the nuisances can.
Unfortunately, for the grower, the thick mulching and heavy compost use associated with good practice provides woodlice with perfect conditions. And they can also become a problem in greenhouses, due to the permanent humidity.
I have always just allowed them to get on with it, accepting some loss as par for the course but there are methods of organic control without the use of silica powder or other abrasive dust, which literally grinds them to death.
Top tips...
• Making sure your compost is the right temperatue will help stop woodlice using it as a breeding site.
• Allow the compost to decompose properly before using it.
• Before planting out seedlings, wait until they are well grown and put them in the sun to toughen the stems.
• When planting out, clear a space of mulch of at least 4ins and only water early in the morning.
• Drip irrigate your plants to avoid creating ideal conditions for woodlice.
• Avoid over-watering and allow the ground to dry in between.
• Discourage fungal problems by promoting good air flow around the plants.
• Grow sprawling vines on trellises or lift them off the ground with bricks.
• You can lure woodlice with cut potato, orange shells, grated cheese or strawberries sandwiched between two thick layers of damp newspaper.
• Put it in a moist spot in your garden and collect up the trapped woodlice in the morning.
• There are a lot of creatures which eat woodlice, so create friendly conditions for them.
• In the greenhouse, you can stop woodlice from getting on benches by smearing grease around the legs.
• The same method can be used around the base of individual pots.