Free Plants By Mail

Photo: Marginata, Free Plant of the Month by freeplantsbymail.org

Free Plants By Mail (freeplantsbymail.org) was started by local growers as a way to use the surplus plants from nurseries and also as a way to support The Nature Conservancy.  Free Plants By Mail offers a new free plant each month.  Although the plant itself is free, you do have to pay a small shipping and handling fee of $6.95.  This organization also has over 100 plants available for sale on their site.  100% of the proceeds from the sale will go to The Nature Conservancy.

Sluggo: Slug & Snail Killer Certified for Organic Gardening

Photo: Monterey Sluggo Snail & Slug Control for Organic Gardening (1 lb) for $8.80

Monterey Sluggo is a cheap and effective way to control the slug and snail problem in your yard.  A little of this stuff goes a long way.  This product is also certified for organic gardening by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), and it is safe to use around pets and other wildlife.   It does not contain metaldehyde (which is toxic to all organisms); instead Monterey Sluggo's active ingredient is iron phosphate, which occurs naturally in soil.  Iron phosphate is also used as an ingredient in fertilizer.

How it Works:
Slugs and snails find Sluggo appetizing, and are attracted to this bait.  After they eat the pellets, they will cease feeding all together.  They will become less mobile, and will eventually die within three to six days.

Caution: Although this product is certified for organic gardening it does not mean it is harmless.  The Sluggo product label does warn consumers that it will cause moderate eye irritation so avoid making contact with your eyes or clothing, and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after use.  The label also warns consumers to avoid contamination of water, food or feed by storage or disposal.

That being said for those of you who are opposed to hand picking snails at night and smashing them *cringe*,  "wasting" beer for beer slug traps, setting up copper barriers and so forth, this is the product for you.

Pitcher Plants from Lowes

Photo: Pitcher Plant in homemade self-watering greenhouse

Last week I purchased a pitcher plant (Sarracenia Purpurea) from Lowes for $4.48.  This plant is supposed to be hardy in my zone.  I intend for this pitcher plant to stay outside on top or near the outdoor dining table so that it can eventually trap mosquitos or flies.

I transplanted it into a makeshift self-watering, greenhouse made out of soda bottles and yarn.  The soil has to be consistently moist so I kept the pitcher moss in Sphagnum moss and planted it in garden soil and topped it off with more moss.  The yarn that I intertwined in the soil leads to the water chamber below and will wick up water when the plant needs it.  The water chamber below holds fish water from my pond.  I take the cover off during the day, and replace it in the evening.  It is doing really well in this set up.