How to control Ants, Snails and Slugs

Garden pest control is one thing you will need to get used to if you want to make gardening a pleasant and rewarding experience. You can’t avoid it.

Ants, snails and slugs are generally considered by most people as garden pests that you have to control by either killing them or discouraging them from eating your precious vegetable plants.

However, you must do that without using toxic pesticides because, as you are probably aware, we are all in an “eco-friendly” state of mind.

So, let me offer these suggestions:

Ants

Ants have their place in your garden. They aerate the soil and feed on the larvae of other insect pests. However, no matter how useful they may be, I concede that sometimes you need to control them.

The problem is it’s not so easy to find a way to do that without resorting to harmful chemical products. I have come across several methods which purport to offer non-toxic solutions in controlling or killing ants, for example borax and sugar, garlic and cayenne pepper, turmeric powder, etc.

Unfortunately, the jury is still out on many of these “solutions”. Some people swear by them, others not so much. And, unless I’m mistaken, isn’t borax poisonous?

Anyway, for me the single, most effective method to control ants is to locate the anthill and eliminate it. Kill the queen and you will disperse the colony. What you do is bait the workers with something they can’t resist, like petroleum jelly or peanut butter and follow them to the nest. Then, just pour hot water inside and all over the nest.

In saying that, I hope the ants did the right thing by building their nest on your land and not on your neighbor’s! (I’ve actually known someone who faced this dilemma).

Snails and slugs

Snails and slugs will devour your plant in one sitting. Even though they move around slowly, they are very destructive! Assuming that you’re not keen on collecting them by hand, here are a couple of ideas:

Set traps

Get a few small containers, each about 6 inches (15 cm) wide and 3 inches (7.5 cm) deep and bury them so the rim is roughly at ground level. Bury them in places where the snails and slugs are most likely to be active and half fill them with beer, wine, yeast mixed with water or a 5% sugar water solution. Now, you just wait for the snails and slugs to find your traps, slither in and drown.

Coffee Spray

I haven’t tried this one but I’ve heard it works very well. Dilute 1 part strong expresso with 10 parts water. Fill a spray bottle with this mixture and spray your seedlings and surrounding areas thoroughly. The snails and slugs will consume the caffeine and die.

By adopting non-toxic garden pest control and procedures in this way, you will ensure that you get to eat healthy, organic food which has not been exposed in any way to synthetic chemicals.

Copyright © 2009 www.vegetablegardenplantingguide.com

Read More

So, you’re thinking of planting vegetables in your garden? What vegetables do you want to plant and when should you plant them?

These are obviously very important questions to ask because working out the right time to plant your vegetables does require a little bit of forward planning. Different vegetables must be planted at different times of the season and if you put them in at the wrong time of the year, you are likely to meet with disaster.

So, to avoid that, plant the right variety of vegetables at the correct time of the year. That way you will give your vegetable plants the best possible opportunity to do well and thrive.

That’s all very well but, if you are a beginner, how do you determine which vegetables to grow and when during the season to plant them? As you most likely know, some vegetables thrive in the cooler months, some do better in the warmer months and the remainder prefer the months in between. How do you work it all out?

In an article such as this, it’s not practical to go into great detail about the planting schedule of every vegetable variety in the world. There are just too many of them and, besides, conditions are not the same in every country.

Having said that, however, I’m going to give you a guide to some of the most common vegetables and the best time of the year to grow them in Australia. Like many other large countries, Australia is divided into 4 major climatic zones: Tropical, Sub-Tropical, Temperate and Cold. Since many other countries have similar conditions (or zones), I’m sure you will also find this guide useful if you don’t live in Australia. Incidentally, I couldn’t readily find an Australian map depicting the various climatic zones which is not subject to copyright. If I do find one, I will update this post.

Here’s the guide. Use it to work out in advance what you are going to grow each season. You’ll be glad you did.

Planning ahead and planting vegetables at the correct time of the year is a must when you want to be assured of year-round supply of healthy vegetables, and it’s most definitely worth it!

For more information, feel free to read the post on a great guide to planting a vegetable garden

Read More

Wouldn’t you just love to grow vegetables, but you don’t have the space? While a big sprawling garden may be the ideal, quality vegetables can be grown even in the absence of a yard. Many people who live in apartments in crowded cities still manage to grow great veggies to enjoy. How? Think container gardening.

When you don’t have a yard to plant in, you can turn to container gardening to grow your fresh fruit and vegetables. It’s easy to find pots and other containers, both large and small that work great for apartment gardens. Plastic gardening containers can be purchased fairly cheaply and work well in most cases. If you’re looking for something more stylish, you can buy or make wooden containers. These keep the soil temperature from fluctuating as much, but require more watering because they’re very porous. If container gardening seems just a little too boring for you, there are plenty of products on the market to make gardens more catchy and cool. One example is the garden sock. This looks like a giant hosiery sock that your can use to plants various vegetables or flowers.

If you’re totally lacking a yard or balcony, you can use more decorative pots or containers. If you place your vegetables correctly in your apartment, they can act as decorative pieces as well as great food.

The key for decorating with vegetables is to get creative. Wrapping a vine from a vegetable plant around a post or railing can make a nice accent. Just be sure indoor plants are getting plenty of direct sunlight.

You’re probably still thinking “what kind of vegetables could I possibly grow in such a small space?” While there are certain fruits and veggies that grow in small spaces, like strawberries, the real key is picking the right variety of vegetables to grow. Many vegetables have smaller versions that don’t need as much space as their full size counterparts. When picking plants to grow, look at how much room they need to have and how far apart they need to be.

Hopefully one or more of these tips has gotten your imagination going. Just remember, instead of concentrating on how your small space limits you, think of the fun and creative things you can do with container gardening vegetables in the area you do have.

For more information, feel free to read the post on a great guide to container gardening.

Read More

Speak to anyone who does a lot of gardening and they will all tell you the same thing – they took it up for relaxation and they now are completely hooked on getting things to grow bigger, brighter, tastier and better overall. It is utterly undeniable that people enjoy the serenity of a little light gardening – indeed it is with good reason that some organisations refer to an employee who is seeing out the remainder of their contract at home as being on “gardening leave”. Having the time and the inclination to do some gardening will allow you to put things in place that will look great and do you good for years to come. But it can come at a price.

Whenever you are in the garden it is important to make sure that you are not putting an excess of strain on the body parts that are most used in gardening. While the process inevitably involves a lot of crouching and bending, it is utterly essential that you follow the old maxim “bend with the knees and not with the back”. It would be bitterly ironic if you took up gardening to have a little bit of rest and relaxation, only to throw out your back early on. Yet this is something that happens to a lot of us, because an inexperienced gardener will not be as aware of the pitfalls as a green-fingered old hand.

Your garden is for relaxing in, more than anything else. So when you are out doing a bit of work, make sure that you do not forget to take a rest every once in a while. Putting strain on your back or your knees for a prolonged period will not strengthen them – it could lead to quite a nasty injury if you are not careful. Having a cold drink every so often will refresh you and give you the energy to take on the longer jobs – and will take the strain of the parts that need resting. After all, you don’t want someone to ask how you got your injury and you have to tell them “gardening injury”.

And remember to never start your gardening session without doing your stretching exercises and warming yourself up thoroughly.

Read More

There are some people who will decide what social class a person falls into on the basis of whether or not they have a garden. It may be a flippant way of deciding such a thing, but for many people it seems to hold true. Huge, blooming gardens are undoubtedly the domain of those with a bit of cash to spare, while people with less money to throw around will have to settle for less. But there is no reason why, if you have the inclination, you cannot grow something pretty, useful or even lucrative even on a tighter budget than the guys and gals with the bigger gardens.

You don’t need to have a big garden to grow things that will benefit you for a long time to come. You don’t even need to have a garden at all if you go about things in the correct manner. What you will need is a little bit of spare time, the patience to wait things out and not get flustered when things don’t bloom as you had planned straight away, and the knowledge that it really is worthwhile. Without a doubt, you will benefit from sticking to these, and you could even find yourself a lucrative little sideline if you are clever about it. People will pay for fresh fruit and veg. They will also pay for flowering blooms, so if you go about things in the right way you will find that your work can actually make you money.

Of course, the lack of money means some scaling down in terms of ambition. But this does not need to be permanent or even long term. Starting small does not mean you have to keep thinking small. Once you start gardening you will get ideas for other things you can do, ways that you can make your plans come to life. And the best thing of all is that you can grow things which you will end up actually using – a casserole always tastes better when you have grown the veg yourself and you know there is more growing outside.

Read More

Gardening can be a little bit tricky, there is no point denying it. That is a large part of what makes it such a satisfying pursuit. Going through all the hard work – the digging, planting and weeding just for a start – of getting a garden in place is seen by many as nature’s way of reminding you that it is worth doing. If a job isn’t hard, it’s probably not worth the bother after all. But at the time, it doesn’t necessarily feel that way to you, or to anyone who is waiting for something to grow and getting frustrated at its refusal to be hurried. This is when your patience will be tested sorely, and without the right tools it will be even worse.

The type of tools that you will need will depend hugely on what kind of gardening you are looking to do, and what size of garden you have – or are looking to create. If you live in an apartment block and are just using a window box, then it makes very little sense to buy a large fork, spade and garden shears, for example. Every gardener at one time or another will need a trowel, though. Small or large as your garden may be, in order to make a hole for the seed, seedling or any other infant plant you will require one. A watering can is also pretty much essential in any gardening situation – without moisture in the soil a plant will wither.

For a larger garden, there is a definite benefit to having larger artillery, as it were. You may need to dig up quite a large area of soil depending on what you plant. If you are growing something quite delicate it is also worth investing in a net to put over it. As much as you may love your pets – or next door’s cat – they do have an insatiable curiosity which often manifests itself in trampling all over your delicate blooms. This is no help whatsoever when you are trying to coax them through their early days.

Read More