* The crabgrass has returned with a vengeance. It is coming up EVERYWHERE! In an attempt to have a completely organic yard, I am not spraying anything and am instead trying to pull up as many of the weeds as I can by hand. This is tedious and I understand the urge to use herbicides...but I'm not going there.
*I think that I might have wrongly accused the chipmunk of eating my seedlings. I think it was either cutworms (which I have recently learned crawl around the base of the seedling and wrap their bodies around the plant and decapitate it) OR slugs.
*Slugs suck. I always thought they were kind of gross but harmless creatures. I now know better. They slither along stealthily leaving a trail of slime in their wake and silently chew holes into everything!
These creatures are horrid and I completely understand the urge to use pesticides...but again...not going there. Here are some alternative techniques that I have tried:
1. Cut the bottom off of plastic cups and place around the seedlings. Slugs and cutworms have a much harder time getting to the plant. I've heard of people using old yogurt containers, cardboard, coiled up aluminum foil...anything that can make a raised ring around the plant. Slugs also apparently don't like copper, so copper rings work well too.
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| Not my photo or my garden...but it looks similar! |
2. Put large nails into the soil near the seedling so that when the cutworm tries to wrap around the plant....it can't.
3. I crushed eggshells and sprinkled them around the base of all seedlings and plants. This supposedly prevents slugs from getting to the plants.
So far all of the seedlings and plants that I have done these things for are thriving. Success.
* I have no idea what to do about preventing larger animals from eating the plants once they start growing bigger. Tips? I really don't want fencing around the garden.
Here is a pieced together panoramic view of the yard from June 6th:
It makes me so happy.
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