Gardening
 

Looks like we needed a gardening thread.

My issue is snails, I think. They're devouring my lemon tree, pepper plant and hibiscus. And they munch a bit on the apple tree. Any ideas on how to get them to stop?

Shallow plastic plate filled with cheap beer.

Chop down the trees

2nd the beer suggestion - been successful with that before

Some of the damage you describe is not typical of snails. They usually don't climb real high into the trees, or even bushes like hybiscus. It sounds like (and usually is) more than one pest. The hard to reach leaf chewing is often done by grasshoppers or locusts, and other than hitting them over the head with a hammer, there is not much you can do that won't also poison you. Catapillars are another suspect, and there are some good products you can use on fruits and veggies that are safe. Spending time in the garden and watching the wildlife is the best way to see what is going on.

To figure out the snails/slugs, go out with a flashlight as late at night or early in the morning when its dark, that's when they are out. You can then see what they are up to, and you can simply pick them up at that time. The plated of beer or traps made to be used with beer are one way, but I have had good luck with deadline. What ever you choose, be diligent. I have, and I haven't had a snail in years.

Good luck!

Doesn't have to be cheap - it just has to be dreadful. Any American beer will do.





:p

I tried Fosters lager once, the snails quit eating the plants! I did find that they were throwing shrimp on the barby instead, which was just as annoying.

Fosters. Australian for Budweiser.

Get a bird feeder near the tree and the birds will help eat the bugs.

Peppers


close up


Dwarf Lemon Tree. I've only had one lemon as all the buds keep getting eaten.


Close up

I'll try the beer. The only thing I've seen out there are snails. Nothing flying like grasshoppers. No caterpillars. And they only seem to devour those three plants and sometimes the apple.

I've sprayed all kinds of stuff on them an nothing seems to do anything. Especially on the lemon and pepper plant. And I've had 3 or 4 basil plants. Whatever it is devours those down to the stubs in under a week.

Have you tried using plastic plants? They can be very realistic and tough as nails.

Actually my best friends Mom has a notorious brown thumb. If you put silk plants too near sunlight, they will turn brown also.

Silk plants, ugh.

The beer works wonders. However, I once saw a wasp cut a big piece off of a leaf on my bell pepper plant. I'm convinced they did the bulk of the fatal damage to those and certain other plants I have. We get tons of wasps and our tangerine tree attracts even more of them. I believe they eat tiny bugs that live on the tree so it's all a tradeoff. I have no idea how to repel them anyway.

Now that we have the bird feeder (with plenty of activity), we might be in better shape.

Beatles eating them perhaps? or grasshoppers / katydids?

The only vermin I can see are snails -and there are lots of them. Trying the beer tonight, I'll see what that does.

Oddly, it never occurred to me until just now that it might be the gigantic cricket population in our backyard destroying the plants.

To clarify, it is a large population of crickets, not a population of large crickets.

Overnight count - about 15 small slugs and one snail.

Any hints on keeping potted basil alive? I seem to kill mine very easily.

Could you be overwatering, Steph?

Now, for those of us who have to deal with deer and chipmunks, here's the recipe you need:

1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
1 Tbsp. dish soap
a few dashes of hot sauce, like Tabasco

Put it all in an empty gallon milk jug, put the cap on tight, and shake shake it baby shake it shake it now. Let age to perfection, say at least a week. Fill a spray bottle with it and apply. It lasts through rains, up to a month.

Hey! That's my Pancake recipe you've stolen.

I don't like (those) pancakes.

We are just about over the danger of a hard frost. Here's the new garden a few minutes ago.

I have yet to keep one basil plant alive, ever. Ground, pot - neither work for me.

Rosemary and chives grow like weeds though.

------------------

I love love love the tulips.

Basil has worked fairly well for us in pots over summer. I think it does best when we keep it wet and regularly cut large leaves for the bunnies, leaving the buds to grow more. As soon as the temp drops they die.

My best pest solution I use is Diamateceous Earth. I also employ beer, tobasco/oil spray and egg shells around the base of plants (snails and slugs don't like to crawl over them). I also staple gritty sandpaper strips around the edge of planters. They don't like to crawl over that either.

I have copper tape for around the affected planters that seems to be working. Apparently it gives them a little electric shock so they won't cross it.

Sandpaper and copper - great tips!

Bunnies. Damn bunnies. They're cute and entertain the cats, but they are apparently eating one of the new rhododendrons. Just one of them, mind you. The "deer and rabbits won't eat" guidelines are crap. Used some deer fencing to make a little cage for the rhodie. Now they'll probably move on to the others.

Tomato beds are constructed and filled and half of that deer fence set up. Should finish that part tomorrow and possibly plant the seedlings. We have WAY more than we can use, and I can't even GIVE them away at this point.

We have just moved into a house with a HUGE backyard going down to a lake. OMG. That noise you hear is the sound of a gardening budget blowing out. :rolleyes:

Darn, I was going to ask for a picture of those gigantic crickets!

KS, I noticed that there is a lot of stuff for snails and slugs to hide in/under around your pots. You could look under each pot and remove/smash/kill/mutilate those critters that are hiding under the pots. And remove as much of the loose items as possible. They love to hide in moist, dark areas during the day. The damage they are doing is shocking!

The biggest domestic cricket that I have ever seen is about 3/4" (and my reptiles go through a LOT of crickets). Due a blight that has decimated domestic cricket breeding in the US, many breeders have started bringing crickets from other countries. The Jamaican crickets are nasty, aggressive sons-of-bitches.

I know no one cares, I just thought I would contribute some useless information.

How do you use beer? Incidentally, thanks for the DE suggestion a while back, I recently used it to beat back some buggies that were trying to set up shop :) Works!

Why? Didn't they want to be eaten?

You put stale beer in a shallow pan or plate. My Mom always used a pie pan. I used just plastic plates. They crawl in and drown then you dispose of them in the morning.

I always heard to use an empty margarine container - but I don't buy margarine anymore. Does it have to be deep enough that they fall in and can't get out I wonder?

Lash - that sounds divine even without the garden. Have you posted pics and I missed them?

My plates were fairly shallow - so the beer didn't cover some of them and it still worked.

Usually as a frosty cold beverage myself.

The view/path to the lake is gorgeous. So lush. The stained glass windows are beautiful! And he made them?! Wow!

It's alright I guess, if you like that sort of thing.

FREAK FLIPING SNAILS!

Lash, are you going to dig a pit and catch yourself a tiger?

Have you found Jacob yet?

Where's Schweitzer Falls?

...

The beer trap doesn't need to be deep. Slugs love the stuff so much they drink themselves to death. It's crazy.

I've gotten a bunch with my own plastic plate and now I need to get some copper tape. Those bell pepper plants must have delicious leaves. I have to pile on the defenses!

You've just given me a scathingly brilliant idea !!!!

How about a walkway going behind the back side of water?