I finally got around to fixing all the pine needle mulch around my strawberry plants, those black birds, I tell you they are causing all sorts of trouble in the garden at the moment. Scratching out my new spring seedlings and pulling out bark and mulch left, right and centre. I was once told by a gardening friend that crushed egg shells placed around plants would stop snails and slugs from devouring the tender seedlings. Of course I started straight away saving my egg shells and placing them around seedlings. Sometime after I read with dismay in the NZ Gardener magazine that Ruud the bug man said it isn't true and that it doesn't stop slugs and snails. I decided that it didn't matter, we had got into a routine of saving the shells and my little garden helper has spent much time crushing them for me and gently spreading them around the little plants. So maybe it won't stop the snails, but it does give my little one a chance to be involved in the garden and she has a lot of fun doing it.
have you tried beer traps or diatomaceous earth for the slugs. Our beer traps worked really well this spring, but you have to cover them if it rains.
ReplyDeleteIt is fun to see spring again while we are just entering autumn. Thanks so much for stopping by so wabi sabi and entering my giveaway.
Have a blessed day!
Copper will stop slugs and snails. You can buy it in rolls that are like copper tape or here we use pennies. Surround the base of the plant with the copper; the gastropods will receive a charge when they try to cross.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the eggshells will break down and add calcium to your soil, something in which many soils are deficient. Your little gardener is indeed helping :)