I Hate Slugs!

We have had a wet early summer, receiving few bright, DRY, sunny days, which has resulted in an astromonical number of slugs devouring my plants.  I usually don’t spend a lot of money on annuals, chosing instead to divide perennials and maybe add a few new ones, but this year I spent quite of bit on impatients, marigolds, snapdragons and zinnias.  The zinnias were the first to be stripped of their leaves, then the marigolds and zinnias disappeared almost overnight. As soon as I realized the culprit was slugs, I armed myself and declared war.

My weapon of choice is salt.  Because slugs are mostly water, an ample sprinkle of salt turns them to gel in a matter of seconds.  I go out several times a day to wage my attacks, often arming my 3-year old granddaughter with a salt shaker as well.  In one trip around my yard I can easily find and destroy fifty or more slugs, and I do this at least three times a day.

Yet I still have not gained the upper hand in this all out war. I found one this morning in the middle of my deck, which is wooden and five feet in the air. I hate to admit that they have the power to bring out this rage in me, yet I am unable to get past the idea of all the money and work I spent putting in annuals only for them to eat them.  I am not waving the white flag; I will continue my attacks, lest they take over my house! So far, they haven’t found the plethora of house plants I have (sh-h!)

I can say with certainty that I will not invest a lot of money in annuals next year, unless it is to make colorful planters that hang. I will spend the money on more salt.

Daffodils

Springtime brings splashes of color that will surely chase away the winter blues; specifically the bright daffodil.  In my opinion, one can never have too many daffodils.

There are a huge array of colors and “faces” available and they are truly easy to grow and very easy to divide.  Some gardeners keep their daffodils in large groups, some, like me, love to plant them anywhere I can make a six-inch hole.  

I would strongly suggest that you invest in the best and biggest bulbs, and to keep a longer span of daffodil color, buy some early, mid-season and late bulbs.  In the northeast, the bulbs are planted in the fall.  I sprinkle a small amount of wood ash in the hole before covering the bulb and tamping down the ground. Cats and squirrels like to dig if the ground isn’t tamped down, I discovered one year.

In the spring, the bright green nubs of the daffodils will quickly come up once the snow is gone.  Don’t do a thing to them, other than watch their splendor.  I look around my yard to see where I want more and mark it, so that I can add bulbs there in the fall.

After the third year of a daffodil’s life, I disturb them a bit.  While they are still in bloom, I take a spade, deeply dig all around the cluster of plants and gently pull the entire bunch up.  I remove some of the bulbs, keeping the entire flower intact and separate the bulbs, leaving only two or three to go back into the hole. The ones I removed go quickly back into the ground elsewhere in my yard.  I’ve never lost a daffodil by doing it this way; the plants don’t even seem to notice the move. This is a very good way to expand on expensive fancy types of daffodils without paying the fancy price for the bulbs; another way is to find another person with varieties different from yours and making a swap.

After they start losing their beautiful flowers, I cut off the dead heads so that the energy will go back into the bulb.  I give them a bit of general garden fertilizer and some wood ash. In the fall, I cut the faded stems off and let them be until they once again bring Spring to my yard.