Why dont snails eat weeds?

[diane1]

.......seriously....why?....my lovely little plants are turning to stalks over night....but the weeds are still there.....WHY??





and no hi-jacking, flirting or inuendo....for once, id like my post to still be here in the morning!

 

[Blasphemous]

and no hi-jacking, flirting or inuendo....for once, id like my post to still be here in the morning!

But you're happy to lead the discussion that way any other time...

 

[Stivino]

http://www.thegardenhelper.com/slugs.html

 

[joe-90]

Weeds are very ancient and have survived by evolving poisonous alkaloids that slugs don't like.

 

[ajstoneservices]

This is just a wild guess. They don't like them

 

[joe-90]

Some plants aren't nearly as old and are bred by man. Weeds have looked after themselves for aeons.

 

[ColJack]

weeds in general taste bitter and nasty where as crop plants obviously don't ( and have been selectively bred as such for many many years )..

 

[JamesA]

Are you watering the plants in the evening?
They could be attracted by the water if so.

If I was a snail I'd want to eat a tender salad leaf as opposed to something tougher, but I think they're not that clever and it's more based on scent.

(Weeds are just plants in the wrong place).

 

[Deluks]

(Weeds are just plants in the wrong place).

On my old mans allotment plot there's a woman who grows nettles and brambles. Needless to say she has received a letter from the council

 

[ColJack]

nettles are quite nutritious.. and brambles are blackberries aren't they?

 

[Stivino]

I only know them as Brambles but I believe they're called Blackberries, in other parts of the country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bramble

 

[JamesA]

I grow blackberries up against 3 fence panels and they're the most productive fruit we have.
We keep them well trained back to stop the kids touching them, but you can get thornless varieties as well.

Maybe the nettles are to make plant food, although surely there's some in the wild nearby? Non-invasive strains of Comfry would be a better option.

The blackberries do pop up all round the garden and they do have deep roots so I can see why she's not popular.
That'd be the same if she was growing mint though...

The blackberries are tough plants and a pain only if you see them as a weed.
It's all on your viewpoint as it's actually a big bonus to me that nothing eats them and they basically need no care in terms of feeding and watering.

The other thing is that we have more and more plants in our gardens from around the world so maybe some of them just didn't have the need to develop tactics against the British slug/snail in their native environment.

 

[craves]

On my old mans allotment plot there's a woman who grows nettles and brambles. Needless to say she has received a letter from the council

haha, that is great. Poor weeds have such a bad reputation. That should be the new Pixar film- It's Tough to be a Weed