The soil and the water in the soil

34. Soil is important for snails. Part of the time they live on the soil and part of the time they live in the soil, and to live well, snails need good soil.

Snail on the soil; Snail in the soil

35. When snails are not on the soil or in the soil, they are on plants which grow in the soil. So, the soil must also be good for the kinds of plants that snails need.

Snail on plant

36. When snails are in the soil, they are resting or laying their eggs. If the soil has the right amount of water, snails will live well, the eggs they lay will hatch well and the baby snails will come out of the soil easily.

37. Snails cannot live in hard soil such as heavy clay soils. When heavy clay soil is too dry, snails cannot dig into it to rest and lay their eggs. When heavy clay is too wet, snails and the eggs they lay may die.

38. Snails cannot live in loose soil such as soils that have a lot of sand. Sandy soils do not hold enough water for snail eggs to hatch.

39. The drawings on the next page show how a snail digs a hole, lays its eggs, closes the hole and how the baby snails come out when they have hatched.

40. Snails need calcium from the soil to make their shells. All snails grow better and have stronger shells when there is a lot of calcium in the soil.

41. So, if you are going to farm snails, you must have a good medium soil that has neither too much clay nor too much sand. It must also have enough calcium and the right amount of water for your snails to live and grow.

Note

If you have a garden, you can easily tell if your soll is good for snails. If your green leafy vegetables grow well, snails will also grow well in the same kind of soil

Snails will grow well in a garden

1 snail digging a hole

1 snail digging a hole

2 laying the eggs and closing the hole

Snail laying eggs

3 baby snails hatching and coming out of the hole

Baby snails hatching and coming out of the hole