“When moles are most active, about 20 percent of the calls agent Dave Pehling takes at the Washington State University extension office in Everett, Wash., are from people exasperated by moles.

“There’s not really a lot we can tell them,” Pehling said. That’s because nothing really works for long to get rid of a mole, and if it does, another will just move in”.

But if you can contain your irritation, there is a plus side.
“People should be grateful for moles, agrees Linda Chalker-Scott, associate professor and extension urban horticulturist at Puyallup for Washington State University.

“They are definitely your friends. They are nature’s little rototillers; they aerate the soil and do a wonderful job of bringing a lot of organic material into the soil. They are doing all this great work for us, we don’t have to pay them anything, and most of us are out there trying to kill them.” Read more..

And the soil from those molehills can be converted into excellent potting compost. Read more..

Slugs are another common problem for many of us. The way that they nibble at our emerging plants I find particularly annoying. Suggested remedies are many and varied. My bookshelf contains a slim volume entitled “50 Ways To Kill A Slug” which lists all the conventional forms of control plus several weired ideas. Kym Pokorny writing in The Oregonian has her own suggestions. Read more..

The fact that there are so many different ways to make compost tends to make the process seem more complicated than it really is. Here’s a suggestion for making compost indoors using some rather unusual ingredients:

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1. Exploring the Compost – Garlic Connection
2. Slugs And Snails And How To Save Your Plants
3. Green Lawns, Children And Beneficial Pests

One of a gardener’s pet hates is the common slug and of course the second is the snail. It is infuriating to find that your plants have been damaged by these pests. There are many products designed to eradicate these pests ranging from the notorious slug pellets that you scatter beside yor plants to various kinds of traps. While many of these products work to a greater or lesser extent, it is clear that there is no perfect remedy, otherwise there would not be such a huge range of products designed to solve the problem.

I was give a book for my last birthday called “50 ways to kill a slug”. This listed all the popular remedies together with a few fatuous suggestions designed more to satisfy the blood lust of the annoyed gardener than to be effective in removing the slugs. But one thing I have noticed as the years roll on and each new season unfolds is that slugs prefer certain plants. I suppose this is not really so surprising since we humans have our likes and sdislikes, but perhaps we should observe and learn from the behaviour of our local slugs and snails. For instance I like to grow lupins, but they ar e they one flower that is always decimated by slugs in my garden.

This year I created a new herbaceous border with about a dozen new plants. Out of these two were attacked mercilously and the remainder were ignored. Pyrethrum and liatris were the victims. I was able to rescue the liatris by attaching a collar around its stem, but the buds on my pyrethrum were all damaged before the flowers could open. Another plant that I no longer grow is the hosta because its large and attractive leaves attract slugs by the dozen. And a hosta with shredded leaves is not a pretty sight.

The conventional wisdom is that you should grow plants that are native to your area and so perhaps this should be extended to taking notice of the habits of your local slugs.

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2. Stomping Snails And Non-Toxic Dandelion Killers
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Slugs and snails are one of the more annoying garden pests because of the damage they cause to flowers and vegetables. I listen to a weekly radio program where a panel of gardening experts answer questions sent in by listeners. Last week the panel were surprised to be asked how to encourage snails into the garden. It turned out that the questioner enjoyed eating escargots and wanted to be able to “grow his own”. In case you are interested here is the recipe for a snail farm. Take an old laundry basket and place inside some plant pots for cover and soil for the eggs. Provide water and feed your stock lettuce and paper. Bon apetit!

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk

I’ve found a couple more garden gadgets, both solar powered so with green credentials. Depending on your point of view the first one is either exceptionally cool or the height of tackiness. “The Amazing Solar Powered Whirling Sunflower” – when the sun shines it spins! Wow!
The second gadget is more practical. If these “Garden Solar Insect Zappers” work as claimed, then they sound like a worthwhile investment.

And finally the August issue of my monthly newsletter Garden Ramblings is now online.

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