Making Short Work of Slugs and Snails

Slugs and snails are the bane of many gardeners' lives, ripping at slow speed through a garden, destroying young plants under the cover of darkness. It's not unusual to find a whole row of seedlings fatally damaged in one sitting, and even a single snail can cause devastation. Bearing this in mind, it's pretty obvious that many gardeners develop a distinct antipathy towards our mollusc friends and will try almost anything to rid their gardens of the invertebrate menace.

The traditional answer to the snail and slug problem was to use pellets, which contained toxins which would kill the creatures after they consume them. For many reasons, this is less than a perfect solution, as the pellets can also be very dangerous for wildlife, pets, and even children. Not only can the pellets themselves cause poisoning, the slugs and snails become poisonous to birds before expiring, which is bad news for any of our feathered friends which decide to snack on a slug.

Organic slug pellets have recently become available which do not suffer from this toxin problem, but the jury is still out on how effective they are, and they are still a chemical treatment which many people would choose to avoid in these environmentally conscious times.

The most eco-friendly way of fighting back against slugs is to provide an environment which is hostile to them, while being attractive to their natural predators such as birds, hedgehogs, and toads. Attract these animals to your garden and they will do a fine job of gorging themselves on the local snail population, and so reducing the severity of measures you need to take yourself. Also, slugs and snails like to spend the day in cool, damp, dark conditions such as those found in messy flowerbeds and uncut grass. Remove these refuges by keeping your garden as tidy as you can, and there's less chance of a slug evading a predator.

However much you try and discourage your local molluscs from living in your garden, the lure of tasty young seedlings is certain to be stronger. You can protect individual plants by placing some sort of barrier around them. Popular substances include sharp grit or broken egg shells, which slugs and snails are reluctant to slide over, or a smear of vaseline around the top of a plant pot which works in much the same way. You can also buy copper rings or bands, or even tape, which work by giving a small electric shock to any snail which tries to cross it - a most effective deterrent!

Slug traps are available which you half bury in the ground, and fill with a tempting liquid such as beer. The idea is that as the slugs crawl towards it, they fall in and drown (or die of alcoholic poisoning, possibly). The drawback is that these traps are a waste of good beer, and cleaning them out every morning is not a pleasant task if the catch has been good!

For severe slug problems, you could always resort to bacteriological warfare. A kind of slug parasite called nematodes is available, which you add to water and spray onto the infected areas. These parasites will kill any slug they can find, continuously and for a period of up to 6 weeks, but it's an expensive option and doesn't do anything against snails.

A much cheaper option, although it may gain you something of a reputation in the neighborhood, is a midnight slug hunt. After dark, when the slugs are at their most destructively active, patrol your garden armed with a torch, a bucket, and a means of slug dispatch. This technique is especially effective during rain, although probably not an exercise you'd care to repeat too often!

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Andrea writes on gardening, food and ecological issues, a

Great Tools for Great Gardening

It's no wonder so many people love gardening. It allows one to spend time in perfect tranquility, tending the earth and enjoying the stillness and serenity of nature. Gardening gives you a good reason to get dirty, and feel the warm earth between your fingers and toes. You are able to enjoy a sense of accomplishment when you garden, as you carefully plant and attentively pamper your crops. Best of all, gardening produces tangible, colorful, and delicious results for all of your hard work.

In any situation, the proper tools can make the work more pleasant. Experienced gardeners have their favorite tools. Some remain faithful to traditional tools, while some opt for more modern power tools. Whatever your preference, it is challenging to garden with no tools at all. When choosing gardening tools, it is important to consider the size of your garden, the type of tools you will most enjoy working with, as well as your physical ability. Traditional tools require a little more elbow grease. The cost of the tools, as well as the time you have to devote to your hobby, as also important considerations in your decision making process.

In springtime, even before planting begins, it is necessary to prepare the soil. The soil should be turned and irrigated, and, if desired, some organic fertilizer added at this stage. Many gardeners choose to use tillers and other equipment to help them with this pre-planting preparation. Having the right tools always makes the job easier. There is such a wide variety of cultivating tools available that you will have no trouble choosing the tools most suited for you gardening needs.

Hand tools are the typical choice of traditional gardeners. These include shovels, pitchforks, spades, rakes and trowels. All of these hand-held gardening tools will aid the gardener in preparing the plot for planting. Although they do call for some elbow grease, these tools are relatively easy to use. Other common hand tools are the pickax, mattock, and wheel cultivator.

Depending on the size of your garden, and the amount of physical labor you wish to commit to, you may wish to use power tools in your garden. Yes, they are somewhat more expensive, however, they get the job done with more ease. If you have a larger garden, a tiller will be very useful in preparing your soil. It is also helpful for people with mobility issues. A tiller is useful for breaking up the ground, to help mix compost and fertilizer into the earth, and to chop up any debris lying around. A tiller can be quite expensive, so they can also be rented at most tool supply stores. You may also choose to share with or borrow from a neighbor. Chippers, chainsaws, and shredders are additional power tools that are useful in the garden.

Pruning tools are handy to have if you have hedges, shrubs, and small trees on your property. Pruning shears are fine to use for branches about 3/4 inches in diameter, while lopping shears can handle branches from a half inch up to about 2 inches. Taller trees and shrubs require pole pruners, which allow the gardener to extend their reach to branches as high as 15 feet from the ground. Heavy-duty hedge shears and pruning saws are also handy gardening tools to have on hand.

Your garden will not survive without water. When nature doesn't take of your garden's water needs, it is a good idea to have watering equipment on hand. A garden hose with a good quality spray nozzle, or a sprinkler is very useful for those with a bigger garden or a grassy lawn. A basic watering can will be enough for a container garden made up of pots and planters. More advanced gardens may have irrigation systems with timers. These provide more accurate watering. Some gardeners may choose to use drip hoses for more even watering.

Remember that the tools you choose should make your gardening experience more pleasant and rewarding. If you want to get on your hands and knees and dig and the dirt, do it. You may simply desire a pair of gardening gloves to protect your hands from cuts and calluses. If you want quick results with a minimum of fuss, consider which tools will best suit your needs. In any case, you will thoroughly enjoy the fruits of your labors. Your lush, beautiful garden will be a haven to return home to every day. Enjoy!

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Leilani Rolphe is a writer for a variety of Internet sites, on lawn gardens and lawn and garden equipment themes.

Add Interest To Your Water Garden With Floating Plants

A water garden can be a relaxing element to add to any landscape but it can be rather boring unless you add aquatic plants. They are actually different kinds of plants you can add to your water garden, some like to populate the edges of the garden, some grow in the deep waters and others float right on top of the water.

These floating aquatic plants float on the surface and have long groups that go down into the water. These plants often have an exotic look and can provide shade to control algae as well as provide a nice habitat for fish and other pond creatures.

While most floating water garden plants are tropical there are a few that you can use in northern climates. if you have a harsh winter, you will want to treat your floating plants much the same as you treat your annuals and plan on replanting them each year.

Three of the more popular floating plants are discussed below and include Parrots Feather, Water Lettuce, and Floating Hyacinth.
Parrots Feather

This floating plant is rather easy to care for and has feathery foliage that is a blue green in color. parrot feather has stems that can grow up to 60 inches long and can provide a great spawning area for your pond fish. It is good in zones 4to 11 and can survive the winter is beneath the ice but may incur frost damage at the top of the pond.

Water Lettuce

This plant, as the name implies, resembles a big head of lettuce floating on top your pond. The foliage has a velvety look and can grow up to 10 Inches wide and may sometimes even produce white flowers and green berries although the flowers and berries are pretty hard to notice. This can be an invasive plant so you want to be careful that it doesn't take over your water garden. Water letters prefers warmer climates and can work in zones 9-11. Be very careful of frost, as this can damage leaves and cause them to rot and you don't want that in your pond!
Floating Hyacinth

Floating hyacinth reduces purple flowers on 6 inch stems and can be a colorful addition to the floating plants in your water garden. In order for proper flowering you'll need to make sure it has full sun and warmth and also that your water is providing the nutrients that this plant needs. If it is In good health, it can reproduce quite rapidly and you have to make sure that it doesn't take over your water garden. Good for zones 9 to 11, Floating Hyacinth and will also help to clarify your water.

Adding floating plants to your water garden will not only help but look better but it can also help the water quality be healthier and may reduce your maintenance. This is because the plants consume the same nutrients from the water that algae needs to grow. Therefore, water garden plants can help keep algae growth in check, thus increasing your water quality and reducing your water garden maintenance.

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Lee Dobbins writes for watergardens.garden-g8way.com where you can learn more about choosing, installing and maintaining water gardens.

Mini Greenhouses - What Are The Benefits

Mini greenhouses are extremely beneficial for a multitude of reasons and if you are attempting to make a decision as to what kind of greenhouse to get there will be many pieces of information you will want to discover so you can make the right decisions.

You need to consider the amount of space you will require for your mini greenhouses before anything else. If you have decided to grow a large quantity of varietal plants then of course you will need a larger greenhouse but if you just wish to have a few plants than probably a small mini greenhouse will do. Be prepared as you want to grow more than your think and you wouldn't want to be stuck with less space than your will need.

A Little More Information About Mini Greenhouses

Mini Greenhouses have a many advantages and no doubt the top one is the fact that they are so light to transfer around your home. If you need to change locations, jut pick it up and move it, doesn't get much simpler than that.

Also, mini greenhouses can be considered the thing to do in todays environment that will show you care about ecology and cetainly your and your families health and well being. When you do decide to choose mini greenhouses please take a step back, gather all your information, look at the different varieties and really think about what you want. Make sure you are going to get what is right for you.

The ideal way to gather information is to take a trip down the information highway; the internet is just loaded with probably everything you will need to get started. You can begin with the information you have researched before you make any further decisions as mini greenhouses come in such a wide variety of shaped and sizes due to their small size. It's a great item as you can fit them into just about any open space in your home.

As a reminder, do not rush when making your choices with a mini greenhouses, be sure to pick the right sizes for the spaces you havbe available. Picking somehting too large is usually the biggest mistake people make with their first purchase.

Involving your family or friends can be a good idea as they will give you different input to locations and size that may be of benefit to you. Just remember to have fun and enjoy your new hobby.

Mini greenhouses can be very rewarding when you reap the benefits. Gather more information by visiting Types of Geenhouses.com Learn more and see what is available when it comes to locating a window greenhouse. Types of Geenhouses.com will help you along the way.

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Mini greenhouses can be very rewarding when you reap the benefits. Gather more information by visiting Types of Geenhouses.com Learn more and see what is available when it comes to locating a window greenhouse. Types of Geenhouses.com will help you along the way.

Save Money And Start Your Garden On A Budget

Starting a garden of your own can be a very rewarding experience. Working the soil not only will benefit your health it can also save you a lot of money over time. Even during the height of the growing season buying all of those great tasting vegetables can cost you a lot of money. Even though you are going to save some money by growing your vegetables yourself you still will have to make an investment in your future garden to reap the benefits later in the year.

It is possible to start your garden on a budget. You do not have to have all of the new garden tools. Your ancestors made do with little more than a hoe and a horse and plow. There are a few things you need to think about if you want to grow a garden on a budget such as thinking ahead and getting your thoughts sorted before you start planting. Start a compost pile now so when you start your garden you will have some cheap fertilizer ready to nourish your plants. Starting seeds instead of buying plants can save you a lot of money. You can stretch your garden budget by choosing vegetables that will yield an abundant crop. This article will look at some ways to help you spend less on your garden.

Start out by thinking about your garden before it is time to start planting. It is all too easy to start planting and the next thing you know you have several things planted you did not intend to grow. Decide what types of vegetables you want to have in your garden and stick to your plan.

Starting a compost pile can save you a lot of money. Chemicals and fertilizers can be costly and many people do not like to put them on the garden preferring organic methods instead. Starting a compost pile will help recycle items from your kitchen into rich organic fertilizer. Your plants should respond to the compost you add with lush green growth.

Starting your vegetables from seed is one of the best ways to save as plants from a nursery cost a lot more than a package of seeds. Another benefit of starting from seed is you can buy more varieties of vegetables than you can usually find locally.

One last thing you can do to stretch your garden budget is to choose plants that yield abundant crops. Check around and see which types of plants yield the most.

Starting a garden on a budget can be done without a whole lot of trouble as long as you do the proper planning and do not get carried away when you start planting.

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For more information on growing an organic garden of your own try visiting www.onegardens.com/ where you will find tips, advice and resources about topics such as how to grow an organic garden.

Perennial Flower Diseases

One of the attractions of perennial flowers is their ability to tolerate a wide range of problems, usually without serious or lasting damage.
There are a few diseases to watch for that can make perennials unsightly, or cause more serious damage.

Powdery mildew, like many diseases, is aptly named as it resembles a powdery white mildew on leaf surfaces. Unlike many diseases, this one
doesn’t need leaves to be wet in order to spread and become a problem.

It is commonly found on some tall garden phlox (/Phlox paniculata/) and lungworts (/Pulmonaria/). There are fungicides, both synthetic and organic, for powdery mildew. Good air circulation from proper spacing may help as well.

Keep in mind that cultivars (cultivated varieties) often have differing resistance to diseases such as this one. ‘David’ is a white phlox mostly resistant, while ‘Mt. Fuji’ is a white phlox very susceptible. Another interesting point about this disease is that it is not the same powdery
mildew strain that gets on lilacs and annual flowers such as zinnias. If you have this disease on these plants, however, conditions are likely ripe for it on perennials.

Downy mildew is quite a different disease, and is rather difficult to control. This appears as gray downy growth on undersides of leaves under cool and humid conditions. Perennials
susceptible to this include tickseed (/Coreopsis/), black-eyed Susan (/Rudbeckia/), speedwell (/Veronica/), asters (/Aster/), bluets (/Centaurea/), dead nettle (/Lamium/), and roses. There are fungicides you can use to prevent this from spreading as it is beginning. Keep in mind that fungicides are preventative—they prevent more disease but usually don’t get rid of that already present. Avoid watering plants with this disease in early morning, and discard severely infected plants.

Rust diseases cause rust-colored spots on leaf surfaces, particularly undersides of leaves. Most commonly it is seen on hollyhocks, but it can occur on many others such as asters and hibiscus. The latest perennial to show a new rust strain to our country, only still in a few areas, is the speedwell. Daylily rust on this popular perennial has become quite prevalent in the last few years in over half the states. It was first introduced into our country in the southeastern states in 2000. Watch for this on purchased plants, especially from southern sources, removing
infested leaves. There are several fungicides that can be used, but check first for resistant cultivars.

If you have hostas, beware of the relatively new Hosta Virus X. Often symptoms resemble natural leaf variegation making diagnosis difficult. Most distinctive is an irregular color feathering along leaf veins. A hosta nursery specialist, or Extension diagnostician, can help identify infected plants. ‘Gold Standard’, ‘Striptease’, and ‘Sum and Substance’ cultivars are often infected. ‘Blue Angel’, ‘Frances Williams’, ‘Bressingham Blue’, ‘Love Pat’, ‘Great Expectations’, and ‘Sagae’ are some of the cultivars immune or resistant.

Remember, if using any pesticides, follow all label directions. Make sure you know what you are treating, as fungicides for instance only work on fungi and not bacteria or virus.

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Checked out Perry’s Perennial Pages lately? www.uvm.edu/~pass/perry

Summer Tips For The Vegetable Garden

Mulching, pest control, and proper harvest are some of the tips for this season’s vegetable garden.

There's evidence that fruiting of tomatoes and peppers is improved by applying Epsom salts, which contains sulfur and magnesium. Apply one tablespoon of granules around each transplant, or spray a solution of one tablespoon Epsom salts per gallon of water at transplanting, first flowering, and fruit set. You can find it at drug and grocery stores.

Reduce the weeds in walkways in your garden by covering the soil with some type of mulch. Some people like to use carpet scraps placed upside-down. Several sheets of moistened newspaper topped with hay or straw works very well, especially if you move your planting areas around a bit from year to year. Landscape fabric topped with wood chips or gravel is a good choice if the walkways are permanent. Try to avoid the habit of tilling to remove weeds because the process brings up weed seeds from deeper in the soil and exposes
them to the light they need to grow.

Indeterminate tomato plants, such as 'Better Boy', will produce many suckers. A sucker is a new shoot that starts where a branch connects with the main trunk. Removing suckers will decrease the number of fruits produced, but the remaining tomatoes will be larger and will ripen sooner.

Set your tomato supports in place before plants get too large. Smaller determinate (bushy) varieties can be supported with small cages, but larger indeterminate (vining) varieties need large cages or tall stakes. Secure cages with stakes so they don't topple.

Blossom end rot shows up as dark sunken spots on the blossom, or non-stem, end of tomatoes, peppers, and squash. It's caused by a calcium imbalance in the plant. The soil may have adequate calcium, but the plant isn't able to take up enough to supply the rapidly developing fruit. To minimize the problem, keep soil evenly moist, apply a layer of mulch to conserve moisture, don't over-fertilize (especially avoid high-nitrogen fertilizer), and avoid damaging plant roots while cultivating.

Coffee grounds, diatomaceous earth, and even sharp gravel can deter slugs and snails. Spread any of these materials in a ring around individual plants. Wrap
pots with copper tape to keep slugs from crawling up. Inspect foliage and squish or pick off any insects that have already passed the barriers.

Young cucumber, melon, and squash plants are easy prey for cucumber beetles. As the seedlings grow, these yellow-striped or spotted beetles emerge to feed on their foliage. The beetles also spread bacterial wilt disease. To control them in a small planting, suck them up with a portable vacuum cleaner or spray beneficial nematodes on the soil.

It's not too late to sow lettuce, beets, carrots, radishes, and other short-season crops for a late-summer harvest. Shade lettuce, if possible, during late afternoon to keep young plants cooler, or grow them next to larger plants that provide some shade. You'll need to water more often on these hot days than you did in spring and early summer. Mulch between rows to preserve moisture and block weed growth.

Harvest tomatoes, zucchini, beans, and other fruiting crops frequently to encourage continued production. Remove any fruits that have gone by unless you're in competition for the biggest zucchini! You don't want the plant to produce mature seeds because that will signal that it's time to slow down fruit production.

Herbs are best harvested just as they are beginning to flower. That's when they have the highest concentration of essential oils -- and flavor -- in their leaves. Harvest entire branches back to within a few inches of the main stem to encourage new, bushy growth.

Begin harvesting onions when about half to three quarters of the leaves have died back. Then gently dig or pull the onions and store them in a dry, shady place with good ventilation, such as an outdoor shed or barn, for 10 days to two weeks. After the onions have cured, put them in slatted crates or mesh bags and store them over winter indoors in a cellar with low humidity and temperatures between 33 and 45 degrees F.

When the daytime temperatures no longer rise above 65 degrees F in late summer and early fall, it's time to pick the green tomatoes. Wrap them individually in newspaper and let them ripen indoors, or try some fried.

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Checked out Perry’s Perennial Pages lately? www.uvm.edu/~pass/perry