Re: Hum.......+ slug stuff

Well, I'm recovering from a pretty tough week - out of town meetings;
went out today and moved some more ferns in preparation for making
another bed in my woodland garden; planted them outside the pale and
weeded the drive for the umpteenth time, picking up a huge load
(again) of twigs and leaves that have rained down from the trees in
the storms we've had.

Auralie, slugs are having a ball this spring with all the damp.  I
have read several discussions about coffee and it appears that it's a
myth.  The original experiment used a concentrated form which would
be virtually impossible for the home gardener to replicate and, as I
recall, it was only effective at a certain growth stage.  From this
came the word that coffee killed slugs and that has been spread
around the net....'fraid it ain't so.

I got my hands on some Sluggo and it seems to do the trick tho' I've
had to re-apply a lot because we've had so much rain.  Understand
that there are at least 3 other brand names with the same ingredients
(iron phosphate; benign to all but slugs and snails; degrades into a
plant food substance) - Escar-Go Slug & Snail Control, Walmart's Slug
and Snail Bait by Garden Safe and another I think was called
something like WorryFree (but won't swear to that as I can't seem to
locate the post that mentioned it).   I don't find Sluggo all that
inexpensive, but maybe the one Walmart sells would be more reasonable
for a large area.  I just put it around Tricyrtis and a few other
plants that seem to be slug magnets this year.

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
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> From: Aplfgcnys@aol.com
> In a message dated 06/21/2003 10:55:50 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
> justme@prairieinet.net writes:
> 
> > So what is everyone doing this weekend.... figuring since it is
so
> > quiet, everyone must be having great weather and busy in the
garden....
> > or something...
> Slugs are killing me this year.  Lots of seedlings come up and are
eaten off 
> before they get past the two-leaf stage.  Ones I started indoors
and set 
> outside to harden off were eaten overnight.  I've never seen such a
plague of slugs 
> in all my many years of gardening.  I won't put out slug bait
because of all 
> the birds and animals around here.  I usually go around early in
the morning 
> with a salt shaker and get all those on the paving stones and
driveway - 
> usually this keeps things pretty well under control, but not this
year.  I have been 
> told by a local gardener that coffee grounds used as a mulch will
control 
> slugs.  Does anyone have information on this?  How do I use them? 
We don't drink 
> coffee, so would just the ground coffee right out of the can be
sufficient, 
> of must it be brewed?  Can you just pour coffee around plants? 
I'll try just 
> about anything that is safe for other wildlife.  I know, I know,
beer in a 
> dish, but in a garden the size of mine I would have to buy a
brewery.  
> 
> I hope everyone else is having a good start to the summer season.
> Auralie

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