I have tried a couple of times to grow celeriac on my allotment,but each time the roots are almost unusable due to woodlice boring into the roots from below.
I thought that it was slug damage but I deal with slugs using slugbait which leaves the area around like 'killing fields' for slugs-so they work.
My allotment is on sandy soil,so I do use a lot of compost in the soil when I plant the celeriac to stop them drying out.The roots do grow to a pretty good size,but I would like to know how to stop the woodlice attacking them.
Michael

On Monday, November 30, 2015 at 2:27:07 PM UTC, wrote:
I have tried a couple of times to grow celeriac on my allotment,but each time the roots are almost unusable due to woodlice boring into the roots from below.
I thought that it was slug damage but I deal with slugs using slugbait which leaves the area around like 'killing fields' for slugs-so they work.
My allotment is on sandy soil,so I do use a lot of compost in the soil when I plant the celeriac to stop them drying out.The roots do grow to a pretty good size,but I would like to know how to stop the woodlice attacking them.
Michael

I am sorry,but do not agree.Many of the celeriac have several woodlice buried in the root but no sign of 'keel' slugs whatsoever.The same problem has been observed by an adjacent plotholder.I have had an allotment for more than 50years on this site,but have only recently tried to grow celeriac.
If you are right and it is ground rather than surface slugs,what is the best policy for them-I do not have a problem with ground slugs with several different varieties of potatoes.Indeed this year I dug uo most of my potatoes in mid August (Charlotte,King Edwards,Kestrel,Orla,Vanessa)-I dig them early to avoid blight,and very very few (=1%)had any keel slug damage.
Some of these potoes are adjacent to the celeriac,so why did the slugs/woodlice not tackle the somewhat softer potatoes?
Michael

In article ,
wrote:

I am sorry,but do not agree.Many of the celeriac have several woodlice
buried in the root but no sign of 'keel' slugs whatsoever.The same
problem has been observed by an adjacent plotholder.I have had an
allotment for more than 50years on this site,but have only recently
tried to grow celeriac.

That is what happens, yes. I suggest looking it up - woodlice are
not physically capable of gnawing into celeriac.

If you are right and it is ground rather than surface slugs,what is the
best policy for them-I do not have a problem with ground slugs with
several different varieties of potatoes.Indeed this year I dug uo most
of my potatoes in mid August (Charlotte,King
Edwards,Kestrel,Orla,Vanessa)-I dig them early to avoid blight,and very
very few (=1%)had any keel slug damage.
Some of these potoes are adjacent to the celeriac,so why did the
slugs/woodlice not tackle the somewhat softer potatoes?

Potatoes are more toxic. And there are several varieties of keeled
slugs, some of which probably prefer different plants. I have no
idea what to do about them - they cause some damage to my carrots,
on similar soil, but I live with that.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.