Slug Alert

Spring was going along so well here in the Northeast. We could easily work the vegetable garden in March and April. By the time the first significant rain came in early May, we welcomed a gray day to recharge the water table before we planted the entire garden.

The spring of 2005 seemed like a distant memory. You recall last spring, right? All but one day of the month was rainy. Whatever we could get into the ground was quickly snatched up by eager fat slugs, which just love damp, cool weather.

Now, of course, we're back in exactly the same rainy pattern as last May. Many of our readers in New England have far worse problems than slugs right now. Streets and basements are literally under water and life as they know it has been disrupted indefinitely. For many farmers, the first plantings of crops have washed away.

For gardeners, that certainly means that slugs will be waiting when you are able to venture into the flowers and vegetables. For this week's Tip of the Week, we thought it best to dust off the slug article from last season. Many of you will need the information.

WATERING
While we can't do anything about the rain, we can adjust our own watering schedule. Slugs do most damage in the evening and at night and the drier we can keep the plants and soil, the better. If you water in the morning the surface soil will be dry by evening on most sunny days. This one change can greatly reduce slug damage.

MULCH
What you place around your plants can significantly alter their crawling habits. Finely ground bark, for example, won't deter them a bit and may, in fact, encourage them by giving them plenty of places to hide on the warm, sunny days when they will look for cover.

Fresh seaweed, if you can get it, is coated with salt and the slugs will stay away. Even as the seaweed dries it becomes coarse and will discourage slug travel. A three- or four-inch coating -- around the plants but not touching the stem -- is recommended.

Buckwheat hulls, though more expensive than most other mulches, will also work. The slugs don't like the consistency of the lightweight seed coatings and will stay away.

Some folks don't mulch at all in the spring while the ground is already moist, figuring that the mulch will trap the excess moisture that creates ideal slug conditions. When the soil begins to dry in mid-summer, it may be safer to apply your bark, pine needles, straw or mulch of choice.

SOIL DUSTING
Numerous materials, when scattered in a thin unbroken ring around the plants' stems, will inhibit slugs from reaching your plants. Your coffee grounds, for example, will serve as both a deterrent and a poison. The journal Nature recently reported that caffeine is toxic to slugs and some companies have begun marketing a caffeine-based slug spray.

Ash from your wood stove will also work well, provided that it stays dry. Slugs don't like the feeling of the rough material, which will quickly dehydrate their worm-like bodies that are primarily made up of water.

Though you may have ash in great supply, you can't use it indefinitely because it will eventually raise the pH of your soil too high. After a few applications of ash, you may want to switch to a product known as diatomaceous earth. Mined from the ocean floor, diatomaceous earth is the sharp, jagged skeletal remains of microscopic creatures. It lacerates soft-bodied slugs, causing them to shrivel up and die. It looks and feels like a white powder, but you're advised to use a dust mask when applying diatomaceous earth; it can irritate eyes and lungs.

PHYSICAL BARRIERS
Nature's most fool-proof tool in the war against slugs is copper, which slugs find irritating. Many garden centers sell thin copper strips, which can wrap around the base of plants, or plant pots. We used two-inch wide strips in our trials and had excellent results.

Some gardeners will purchase fine copper wire and coil it loosely around plants. Keeping the coil loose will give the plants plenty of room to grow. Whether you use the strips or the coils, be sure no part of the plant hangs over the copper and touches the ground, otherwise the slugs will have a "bridge" to get to the plant.

We didn't try this one in our garden, but heard from others that lava rock can be used as a slug barrier around plantings. The rock needs to remain on the soil surface and form a continuous wall, otherwise the slugs will find any opening to crawl through.

Crushed eggs shells may also be used in a ring around the plants -- if you can find an ample supply of shells. The shells' sharp edges will deter slugs from crawling. Slugs also won't crawl over dry sand, but we found they will happily move over wet sand.

BARRIER PLANTS
We didn't have time to test this one, but many gardeners reported that slugs can be kept at bay with a "wall" of slug-resistant plants.

"Look around and see what they won't eat," said Mary Snider, a master gardener from Ogdensburg in northern New York. "Garlic, ginger, chives, red lettuces -- not green -- and most of the mints generally won't be touched by slugs. Grow these plants on the edges of your garden. Most of these plants, with the exception of red lettuce, generally won't be eaten by deer or other critters, either."

INSTANT DEATH
If you've had it, or you don't want to mess around with barriers, mulches or soil dusts, you can go out in the evening and simply kill the slugs instantly. The salt in your table salt shaker will cause the slugs to quickly shed their outer shell and die of dehydration. A big question with this method concerns how much salt your soil can tolerate and most people we talked with don't recommend using this method more than four or five times during the season.

A spray solution of household ammonia, mixed with 25 percent water, will also kill the slugs quickly. Experiment with this method in your own garden before going full bore. If the ammonia solution is too strong, it can damage the plants. And because the ammonia will instantly combine with the nitrogen in the atmosphere to create ammonium nitrate -- a usable form of nitrogen fertilizer for the plants -- it is possible to overfertilize and burn plants with too many applications of ammonia.

BEER TRAPS
Often cited as a great way to attract and trap slugs, beer does work. Put a tin can filled with beer in the garden and bury it in the soil with only about a half-inch above the soil line. Slugs will crawl in and drown. The drawback, however, is that you'll have to refill the beer every couple of days, and you'll need to have a tin can of beer for about every three-square feet of garden space. Note: Keeping the lid above the soil line is important; if you place the lid flush with the soil line, you may trap beetles that are natural slug predators.

A far more potent trap operates on the same principle as beer. Since the slugs are drawn to the yeast in the beer, you'll get even better results by creating a home yeast mixture. Pour two cups of warm water into a jar and add a packet of dry yeast. Add in about a teaspoon each of salt and sugar for good measure.

After mixing the solution, divide the contents equally into another jar and place both jaurs in the garden at an angle, so that the liquid is almost pouring out onto the soil. This potent mixture will draw slugs from several feet away and last a few days. When the jar is full of drowned slugs, you can add them to the compost pile.

OTHER TRAPS
Gardeners have no shortage of contraptions designed to lure slugs, which will look for any damp area to wait out a sunny day.You can
1) overturn a wet clay flower pot with just a small opening near the soil for the slugs to crawl through;
2) cut a grapefruit in half and turn it upside down;
3) place a wet board, log, newspaper or plastic bag near the garden.
All of these will gather slugs for you; how you dispose of them --barehanded or gloved, with scissors or daggers, or by drowning in a bucket or flushing in a toilet -- is up to you. Every slug you collect is one that won't eat your plants and won't leg eggs for future generations.

COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS
New products made from iron sulphate will lure and poison slugs and these reportedly work well. Escar-Go and Sluggo are common trade names of the same organic product that is safe for birds, pets and the environment.

Many of the traditional slug baits contain metaldehyde, a nerve poison, which can seriously harm pets and the environment. With all the other alternatives listed above -- and the serious risks associated with this highly toxic chemical -- we would hope gardeners never feel the need to resort to this method.
For more on natural lawn care each week, click on www.safelawns.org.

Be sure to let us know what you think after viewing the video. Send me an email at
Paul Tukey at paul@ppplants.com.

-Paul Tukey: May 17, 2006.

Harvesting Vegetables by Jackie Carroll

Commercial vegetable growers, wholesalers and retailers are experts at selecting the optimum harvest time and storage conditions to ensure that the vegetables you find in the grocery store will have the longest possible shelf life. They do an excellent job of ensuring that the grocery store produce department is continually stocked with the freshest vegetables possible, even when the grower is thousands of miles from the consumer. The only problem with the system is that the optimum harvest time for a long shelf life is not always the optimum time for the best flavor.

Some people swear that once the bloom falls off the end of the squash, it's past it's prime. These infant squash aren't available at the grocery store because at this stage they bruise easily and have a shorter shelf life than squash left on the vines until the skin toughens. Some vegetables (such as tomatoes) are picked long before their prime and ripen in storage facilities rather than on the vine.

The only way to experience vegetables at their prime is to grow them yourself. For best results, harvest your vegetables the day you plan to eat them, preferably early in the morning. Sprinkle them lightly with water and store them in a cool place until you're ready to prepare them.

Some vegetables, such as parsnips, carrots and potatoes, keep well in the ground until needed. Others have a short harvest window and should be picked promptly when ripe. Invest in a good kitchen garden cookbook with a variety of recipes for each vegetable to prevent monotony when you find yourself harvesting the same vegetables for several consecutive days.


Text Vegetable Guidelines.

About the Author:
Jackie Carroll is the editor of GardenGuides.com, a leading internet destination for gardening information and ideas.

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Miniature Roses by Jackie Carroll

Don't let the delicate appearance fool you! These little gems are hardy enough to grow outdoors in zones 6-10 without winter protection, and with a good cover of mulch they will survive winters as far north as zone 4. Miniature roses are surprisingly easy to grow, and they look great as edgings for your beds or borders, accent plants for rock gardens, and as houseplants.

Miniature roses range in size from the micro-minis which grow to about five inches, up to a height four feet or more. The flowers are from 1/2 inch to two inches in diameter, and the range of colors is similar to that of full-sized roses. Most types will bloom from spring until frost. Unfortunately, miniature roses have little or no fragrance.

When grown indoors as pot plants, miniature roses need a little special care. Even when grown in the sunniest window, they will usually need supplemental light. You will know your rose isn't getting enough light when the stems seem to stretch out leaving wide spaces between the leaves.

Miniature roses also need lots of humidity if kept indoors. Set your pot in a tray of pebbles and water. The pebbles will support the pot above the water level so the soil doesn't become waterlogged. As it evaporates, the water will provide the plant with extra humidity. If you house is very dry, run a cool-mist vaporizer now and then.

Spider mites and whiteflies are drawn to indoor miniature roses. To reduce the chances of these pests attacking your plants, give them a weekly shower. Take care to thoroughly rinse both the tops and the undersides of the leaves. To treat whiteflies, use an insecticidal soap at five day intervals or spray with a solution of four parts water to three parts rubbing alcohol -- add a squirt of dish soap for good measure -- and keep the plant out of the light until the alcohol dries completely.

Soap spray and alcohol spray also work for spider mites, and you might also try buttermilk spray: mix 1/2 cup buttermilk with 4 cups wheat flour to 5 gallons of water. Quarantine infested plants until you are sure that the insects are irradiated. In extreme cases, you can strip the leaves off the plant and cut it back by half. Don't worry, you won't kill it, and you'll soon see signs of new growth.

For the best blooms, use a fertilizer that is high in potassium. The last number in the N-P-K ratio indicates the amount of potassium, and an N-P-K ratio of 5-5-10 is a good choice. Mix the fertilizer to about 1/4 strength and use it once a week.

After your roses spend a season indoors, it's best to plant them outdoors and get new, disease and pest-free plants to use indoors. They can be planted directly in the garden or kept in containers, but remember that outdoor plants in small containers can dry out quickly. Harden them off before placing them outdoors permanently.

About the Author:
Jackie Carroll is the editor of GardenGuides.com, a leading internet destination for gardening information and ideas.
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Rock Gardens by Jackie Carroll

If your property has a slope dotted with interesting or weathered rock formations, you have an ideal spot for a rock garden. If nature hasn't provided you with the ideal location, all you need is a few loads of topsoil and some rocks. If you must bring in your own rocks and soil, start small. The job may be bigger than you think.

Rocks
Rocks native to your area will look natural and will be the cheapest and easiest to obtain. Large rocks with irregular shapes look interesting in the rock garden, but keep in mind that you'll need smaller rocks, too. Limestone is a good selection. The rock is soft and porous, allowing moisture to seep through, and some determined roots will be able to make their way through the rock. Limestone usually has depressions in it that can be filled with dirt for planting mosses and lichens.

Set the rocks in the lowest, front part of the garden first and work upward. Shovel enough soil around each rock to anchor it firmly. You may need to bury half or more of each rock. After the rocks are in place, let the soil settle around them for a few days, then take a look from a distance to be sure you like the layout before adding plants.

Plants

There is an endless variety of plants to choose from. Low growing perennials are the best, but since many of those best suited to rock gardens bloom only in the spring, consider strategic placement of summer-blooming heaths, heathers, herbs and annuals to add color during the rest of the season.

Some purists feel that a rock garden should contain only those plants which grow naturally on rocky slopes in poor soil. Most rock gardens, however, are not located in cool climates with long winters where these plants do well. When selecting your plants, make sure they are right for your climate and exposure.

Seeds for the Rock Garden

Annuals
*Blue Eyed Grass
*Desert Bluebell
*Lobelia
*Strawflower
*Summer Savory
*Sweet Alyssum

Perennials
*Balloon Flower
*Dwarf Lavender
*English Daisy
*Forget-Me-Not
*Wallflower
*Penstemon
*Phlox

Rock Garden Care
Think of your rock garden as a collection of potted plants, and tend them accordingly. Loosen the soil in each area occasionally with a small garden fork. Most rock plants do well in poor soil, but the occasional addition of manure or compost will give them a boost.

Routine care will include cutting back any leggy plants after flowering, clipping off dead stems and foliage, and dividing any plants that become root-bound or too large for its space. Check for insects and diseases regularly. Slugs may be especially pesky because they enjoy the shelter found among the rocks. Never let weeds grow in the nooks and crannies. They will easily crowd out plants in small areas.

Because plants in a rock garden are more exposed than plants in a level bed, they may need more protection in winter. A heavy mulch should be applied before the first freeze in cold climates.

About the Author:
Jackie Carroll is the editor of GardenGuides.com, a leading internet destination for gardening information and ideas.
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The Magic of Annual Vines by Jackie Carroll

For the cost of a packet of seeds, you can quickly create a show stopping garden accent or a living hideaway for children, hide a rusty chain link fence or an unsightly garage wall, and turn an ordinary balcony into a private garden. Started from seeds, annual vines will scramble to heights of 20 feet or more, highlighting features you want to show off and covering eyesores.

Here are just a few of the many uses for annual vines:

*Add a little magic to your garden by planting a trellis or pole with brightly colored morning glories and moonflowers. You'll have a burst of brightly colored flowers during the day, and luminescent white blossoms at night.

*Add shade and privacy to your balcony with annual vines. Because their root systems are limited, they can be grown in large planters on a trellis, or allowed to trail from window boxes and big hanging baskets. The vertical growing habit will make a small area seem larger.

*Annual vines are ideal for introducing your children to the magic of gardening. Build a teepee of bamboo or fallen tree branches, and plant with scarlet runner beans or tall nasturtiums. Your children will enjoy their colorful (and edible) hideaway while learning about the wonders of nature.

*Plant climbing vines along chain link fences and light poles to soften the look of your landscape.

*Annual vines will quickly blanket a problem slope or other area that is difficult to mow with colorful flowers. If your slope is difficult to plant, use a vine that will reseed itself such as morning glories or cardinal climbers.

*Plant vines along a southern wall to keep the house cooler in summer.

Annual vines are easy to grow. They like a sunny location with good quality, well drained soil. Plant your seeds according to the package directions, and keep them evenly moist until they germinate. After germination, you'll only need to water when the weather has been extremely hot or dry. Use fertilizers sparingly. An abundance of nitrogen will encourage your vines to produce an abundance of dark green foliage and few flowers.

Have your trellises or other support in place when you plant your seeds. If you can't plant right next to the support, insert twigs into the soil next to the seeds to lead the vines to their intended support. If the vine can't find its support right away, it will waste time searching and reaching for something to grab on to.

Recommended Annual Vines
Click the name of the vine for more information about the seeds.

Black Eyed Susan Vine
Unlike many climbing vines, this one isn't invasive so it can be incorporated into existing gardens without fear of crowding out existing plants. It's a great choice for hanging baskets and window boxes.
Height: 5' to 10' trailing vine

Cardinal Climber Vine
The deep red flowers with white or yellow throats are sure to draw attention to your trellises, fences and poles.
Height: 6' to 20' vine

Cypress Vine
This vine can add a tropical texture to your landscape with its interesting foliage and mix of bright red, pink and white flowers. With the right conditions, it grows to 20 feet.
Height: 8' to 10' vine

Hyacinth Bean Vine
This striking vine will have your visitors asking if it's real! The flowers are followed by velvety purple bean pods.
Height: 6' - 20' vine

Mina Lobata
'Firecracker Vine' or 'Exotic Love,' this unusual, exciting, interesting annual vine has up to 12 beautiful 2" tubular flowers on each spike. Performs well on trellises and in hanging baskets.
Height: 6' to 10'

Moonflower
Plant this fast-growing vine on a porch, near an entrance, or under a window where you can enjoy the evening performance and heady fragrance. The flowers bloom only at night, and unfold in 2-3 minutes, and event worth waiting for!
Height: 10' to 20' vine

Morning Glories
In the summer, flowers open in the morning, and in the fall they stay open all day. Morning glories are grown as a groundcover in difficult areas.
Height: 8' - 10' vine

About the Author:
Jackie Carroll is the editor of GardenGuides.com, a leading internet destination for gardening information and ideas.
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