Article submitted by Tony

I would like to share a tip with you. I took our plot on late last summer, and just by chance i mentioned to a good friend how is a barber in my local town that i had taken on an allotment plot. He asked me a few questions what i thought at the time was a little odd.

Do you have problems with deer, rabbits, badgers, slugs or snails. I replied a few rabbits and slugs. I wondered why he asked. He said that an old boy used to collect all of the cut hair that he used to bag up. I still was a little lost,being it was my first year of having a plot.

He said the the old boy used to spread it around all of the veggies on his garden and he swore by it. A penny dropped , it will be like barb wire to the slugs as i understood that under a microscope hair is cover in little barbs, they've probably got a name but I'll call them barbs.

I then asked "why ask about rabbits,badgers and deer". He said that the old boy used to be hassled by them,but the sent of humans must keep them away.

So I took on three bin liners off to the plot and put on a pair of disposable glove. I scattered the hair over every bare patch of soil, when the soil was dry i wasn't too convinced and waited for the Autumn. As the Autumn set it and the snails and slugs surfaced again a couple of fellow plot holds mentioned they were over run with them. I just chuckled  as they knocked the thought of human hair on the plot,but i don't use and chemicals to control slugs of snail, maybe a few hair products :) .

In the long run the old hair will rot way and add goodness to the soil.So every other week when i take our son to the barber my mate has a couple of more bags waiting for me. We have joked that we hope the C.S.I never search the allotments, as i have the DNA of hundreds of local people. Why don't you try it,ask your local barber and hairdressers if they would keep a hair only bag, and even offer to provide the bin liners if needs be.