Flowers in the veges

Howdy everyone,
                            After extracting more than 300 slugs from my greenhouse
this year I thought I would share a capture technique that has worked very well for
me here in New Zealand.

I am now growing, or attempting to grow, marigolds in my veggie patches. The slugs
go crazy for them and it is an easy matter to go out at night armed with a
flashlight and a bucket of hot water and pull slugs off the marigold plants. Even
very tiny slugs are easy to see on the heavily scented foliage.

I have planted small marigold plants in rows in areas I want to protect, such as
next to my cucumber plants. So far the slugs have shown a preference for the
marigolds over anything else I grow in the greenhouse.

Perhaps the biggest bonus has been the ability to use the plants as an indicator
that there are slugs in the immediate vicinity. Damage is very obvious and the
culprit slug is usually very easy to find nearby during the day.

Toward the beginning of  next planting season I plan to pre plant marigolds. They
are very easy to produce in quantity in seed boxes.

Marigolds are far better than beer traps.


Regards  Ian Gill    Westland  NZ
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