Petunias

Common Garden Petunia
(Petunia x hybrida)

Very few gardeners are unaware of the common garden petunia (petunia x hybrida) with their beautiful showy, cascading trumpet shaped flowers. These plants are members of the family Solanaceae (nightshade plant) that originated in South America and are thought to be a hybridization between P. axillaris and P. integrifolia. There is a wide variety of colours available ranging from white to very deep purple and everything in between. Petunias are grown as annuals but in warmer climates they are biennials. They are a popular plant for hanging baskets and containers. Why?

The reason is quite simple. Petunias are very low maintenance plants that but on a beautiful cascading display of colour from mid-spring to first hard frost. Their only real requirement seems to be regular watering. To keep the plant looking nice, remove spent flowers by simply giving a slight tug. This will leave the seed pod intact so you can harvest the seeds. The seed pod will turn brown and open releasing very small, round, dark brown seeds. Since most petunias are hybrids the seeds may not breed true but you can get some interesting combinations and they are free plants!

Petunias are more than just a pretty flower! They are excellent companion plants for pole beans, bush beans, peas, squashes and potatoes. Pink petunias in particular will repel the Mexican bean beetle, potato bug and squash bug. I've also noticed that rabbits don't seem to bother petunias. Taking advantage of that observation I planted petunias around the entire perimeter of my legume bed and sure enough the rabbits left that bed alone. So be sure to plant pink petunias in and around these crops for a natural pest control.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Slugging the Slugs!

graphic by Forrest Brown

Pokey asked about slug problems in strawberries. I thought the topic should be discussed in greater detail. As many of you know, I garden as organically as possible with dish soap and vinegar being about as toxic as I will use. I also grow most of my vegetables in raised beds or containers. This makes slug control considerably easier. Most slug control involves killing them off. As always my caveat is to identify the pest first before taking any action. The easiest way to detect slug activity is of course seeing them in action. If you haven't actually seen them, then place a brick or folded sheets of wet newspaper near the damaged plant in the evening. The next morning check for slugs. If there are slugs, manually remove them and depending on the extent of the problem take stronger measures.

Slugs must be able to get into the raised bed or container. A simple way to prevent this is to place copper tape or wire or tubing around the perimeter of the raised bed or container. It can be a decorative element just make sure it goes around the entire perimeter. Fasten it down securely. The slug slime interacts with the copper essentially electrocuting the slug. If your plants are in traditional beds, place the copper wire or even copper pennies around the base of the plant to protect them.

Beer has long been a remedy for slugs but use cheap, fresh beer instead of stale beer. This method will confirm the damage is actually being done by slugs as well. At dusk, pour about 2" of beer into a sour cream or margarine container. I like the smaller cream cheese containers for this purpose. Bury the container to the rim near the damaged plants. The next morning remove the drunken slugs and dump the debris nearby. This will attract natural slug predators effectively giving two lines of defence against the slimy little critters.

Caffeine is an effective slug control. Pour left-over coffee into a spray bottle then spray directly onto slugs in the evening. Place used coffee grinds around the slug damaged plants. If you are dealing with a situation like a strawberry patch such as mine that is not planted in rows, sprinkle used coffee grinds in and around the plants. Vinegar sprayed on slugs will act much the same way however it is an herbicide so don't spray it on plants or where the over spray will get onto plants.

Iron phosphate sold under brand names like Sluggo work to eradicate slugs without poisons. However, I do not recommend them. My first experience with iron phosphate was when I was just starting a vegetable garden in another house. At that time we had ponds and welcomed toad and frogs as well. We had a lovely fat toad who mysteriously disappeared after using this product. For the rest of that season we had no toads and we fished several birds out of the ponds. So I will not use this product despite the labelling that says it is safe. Now this is just based on my experience but there is evidence that slug pellets are reducing the natural slug predators.

Diatomaceous earth is the mined fossilized remains of dinosaur-era, sea-going creatures called diatoms. On a microscopic level it is incredibly sharp causing cuts on the slugs as they travel over it. The cuts cause the slugs to dehydrate on contact. It is best used around plants that are being damaged by slugs and refreshen after a rain or watering. Diatomaceous earth is a fine powder so a dust mask should be used during application. This is not a solution I would recommend to anyone with respiratory problems since you will be working in and around the plants while the diatomaceous earth is present.

Attracting natural predators for slugs is one of the easiest ways to control them. Natural predators include: frogs, song thrushes, mistle thrushes, redwing blackbirds, ground beetles, Bacillius Thurungiensis, centipedes, fire flies and many birds. Duck and chickens like slugs as well and if you've read this blog you will see I have welcomed my guinea hen visitor because of the insect control. When encouraging natural predators do not use pesticides!

As pests go, slugs are fairly easy to identify either from their dried slime trails or direct spotting. So get out there and slug those slugs!

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2007

Standing Guard

Standing Guard
Garden 2006

Garden gnomes bring good luck to your garden and work hard to help your garden prosper but sometimes they need a bit help. That is where other garden decorations can help. Garden decorations add a touch of whimsy to the garden but they can also help in pest control. Pests are smart especially the rabbits who likely have group meeting to decide the best way into my garden and how they are going to outsmart me next! The best decorations for this purpose is anything with large eyes or items that resemble eyes because the represent predators. It's best if the eyes have a bit of shine to them especially at night. Other useful garden decorations that can help with pest control are those that move such as streamers or whirligigs and decorations that make noise. For best pest control results be sure to move the decoration to a different location and use more than one type. Motion activated decorations that make noise are more effective than those that make noise all the time.

Quite often farmers will use owl statues and they are popular for keeping swallows away from the boats in marinas or on docks. There are motion activated owls that likely would be more effective. We have two plastic owls, one for our boat well and the other for the garden. In the garden, the owl seems to be effective for discouraging squirrels, rabbits, mice as well as morning doves. The first three pests are destructive while the morning doves, a relative of pigeons, makes a mess. For best effect, I move the owl around the garden on occasion so pests do not become adapted to it's location. That's important since once the pest becomes adapted to your strategy, the decoration will no longer be effective.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2007