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and snails are attacking my fruit, but are investing the most energy in munching my overwintering brassicas and winter lettuce.We even found a slug sliming its way across the kitchen floor, having stowed away in some apples we had brought inside to put

provided me with a couple of salads. There are also some salad crops growing in my lawn, including a radish and various lettuce varieties. I don't know how they got there, but they have so far avoided the attentions of the snails, so they can stay. Who

for something easier to grow like courgettes. I think it's a combination of cooler temperatures slowing down germination and the wet weather increasing slug and snail populations beyond belief - certainly around the misty damp hills of Bath anyhow! I wonder

of exciting things to eat, including the remains of the chard and straggly brassicas.My hens also make a fair amount of fresh fertiliser, which I allow to rot down for at least six months, before returning to the vegetable plot.They can get in the way though

at the weekend, it was plain to see that the local slugs were showing no signs of slowing down. I uncovered several large clumps of their eggs; clear or slightly off-white spheres, each about 1-2mm in diameter (pictured, above). I gathered the eggs up in a pot

growing strawberries in pots. If I had more space outside, I'd build a 'berry bed' with a proper net-clad frame over it to keep birds away from ripening fruits. Blackbirds in particular have a nose for strawberries. They're not very good at sharing, so

and our resident vole have also had their fair share. The vole does test my patience, as it harvests more than it actually eats and makes a series of ‘larders’ – small mounds of neatly cut fruit! I’m too soft to do anything about it, though, and I’m quite