GARDEN + GARDENING + GARDENING TIPS & ADVICE

Slugs are gross. There’s no denying that. When you start digging in the garden and come across the slimy, crawly creatures, it’s enough to make you want to give up gardening! Not only are they disgusting, they also eat your plants you work hard for. For a few summers, I have had lots of issues with slugs eating my lettuce and other plants. I don’t mind having the deer around because they are beautiful creatures but slugs…not so much!

I spent a lot of time looking for a good solution and reading up online. Lots of people seem to have slug problems but there aren’t any easy fixes! I did find some good stuff on YouTube.

When I came across this video, I had been looking for a final solution to my slug problem. I read that beer worked, so I began searching for the proper way to use it. I found this video and it was hilarious. It actually made me forget about my slug problem for a few minutes. And it provided some pretty good information too! The actor is dressed in some sort of nylon, slimy suit and even has little slug antennas! He does a great job of impersonating a slimy garden slug.

He goes on mocking you as a gardener, saying he loves to eat your plants you leave for him. He also likes the beer you leave out. As a gardener, it makes you angry. But, this is exactly how slugs are! They don’t have any regard for your hard work or beautiful garden. They just eat everything. I went on to try the beer idea. I left little cups of beer buried half way down in the soil. Honestly, the slugs end up in the beer after they’ve eaten through my plants. It’s not very effective.

Then this “slug” picks up a Dr. T’s slug and snail killer pellet, talking about how it tastes amazing. Well, SPOILER ALERT, he dies in 3-6 days from the pellet. It’s great. I’ve sent it to a bunch of my friends and it’s one of my favorite advertisements that I’ve seen. Take a minute and watch:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMssG-66oTE

There are so many things that can be stated about building a rose garden that it is challenging to know where to start. The best place to begin is to think about the final result. What do you need to see when you are finished making your rose garden?

One of the most common mistakes made is to sketch out the rose garden plan on paper and not even think over the actual location of the rose garden. Therefore, I suggest that

Step 1 is to sit in the favorite spot on your terrace and look around. Where do your eyes want to see your rose garden?

Step 2 is to determine if that location will get enough sun. Roses need full sunshine (or near full sunshine). A balance between spot and full sunshine will have to be arranged.

Once, you have found the perfect area. You now really should decide how big the rose garden shall be. A normal mistake to avoid is making the bed too long or too wide. The best measure to use is whether you can reach the roses to care for them or pick them without walking in the bed.

It isn’t that easy. You also need to take into consideration the dimensions of the rose bush. E . g ., hybrid teas and floribundas need around 4 square feet per bush. Which means that each bush requires a space that is a couple of feet wide on both sides. If you make your rose bed 4 feet wide and 4 feet long, you could have 4 rose bushes there and be able to tend to each one without any stepping into the bed. Otherwise you could have it 2 feet wide by 8 feet long.

Examine the measurement that your selected roses are expected to grow and make your rose bed the right size to accommodate the size of the bushes you are planting.

Step 3 is to prepare the potting soil. Humus and fertilizer will greatly increase the quality of your soil. Add a bushel of humus per 12 square feet and a half-bushel of garden compost per 12 sq . ft .. If you make a 16 square foot rose bed (as in the above example of a 4×4 or 2×8 foot bed) you’ll be able to increase the humus by a third and the fertilizer by a third.

That’s all you need to do to have a wonderful rose bed: choose a location, make sure it is sunny, don’t crowd the roses, and feed the soil before planting.

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