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permaculture - Re: snail ranching

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  • From: Toby Hemenway <hemenway@jeffnet.org>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: snail ranching
  • Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 08:20:03 -0600


rick valley at bamboogrove@cmug.com wrote:

> The European Brown Garden Snail, Helix aspersa, seems to do better where the
> calcium level is high [SNIP] . . . One rural are that has recently
> (>25yrs.) >
had a snail population develop is Orcas Is., which formerly hosted limestone
mining.

Interesting info, Rick. I now have an infestation of EBG snails in my
garden, where they were absent 3 years ago. I have added a lot of gypsum
(CaSO4) to the soil to deal with an alkalinity/excess potassium problem due
to the previous owner's dumping too much wood ash on the soil. And I brought
back a lot of plants from the Bullock brothers' on Orcas; they warned me to
check for snails. The two factors have given me plenty of snails. I'm hoping
that deep mulches (got lots of beetles and snakes) and eventual restoration
of the calcium balance will knock down the snails, though they aren't doing
much damage to any but seedling plants (they love the new foliage on my
caragana cuttings). They actually don't seem to hang out in the mulch too
much, but more in the low foliage and under boards, rocks, and greenhouse
plastic.

Toby





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