Issue No. 19

Mike created an enclosure for the snails,
what he calls a “park” in the back garden. It
didn't cost much financially to set up but he
invested a lot of time studying snail farming
and took courses and sat exams.
Only two species of snail are farmed in
France: small grey snails -petit-gris (helix
aspersa aspersa) and big grey snails - grosgris
(helix aspersa maxima). Mike decided
to go for the latter, “they’re meatier and
tastier” he says.
Snail farming starts at a “snails pace” says
Mike, starting with breeding. “Mating takes
hours, anything up to two days from start to
finish, tantric” he grins. When the tiny
babies are born in spring, Mike transfers
them carefully and slowly by hand to the
wooden posts in the enclosure. “There’s no
certainty in this game” he says, “I always
panic about them at this stage”. As they
grow the snails roam their park freely, Mike
stops them escaping “mostly” by rubbing
black soap, a natural repellent, along the
top of the fence that encloses the park.
Some farms use electric fences, but Mike’s
philosophy is about keeping things as
natural and ethical as possible.
He doesn’t use chemicals or pesticides but
grows plants the snails love such as
mustard which feeds the soil by absorbing
nitrogen from the air and transferring it to,
and improving, the soil, as well as providing
shelter from rain and sun. His dog Wanda
has been trained to work with ferrets to clear
out any unwanted visitors – scaring off birds
and rodents.