The Good Life France Magazine Summer 2018 | Page 82

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 - gros-gris (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.