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Happy St. Patrick's Day!
As Suite 101's Personal Investing editor noted last St. Patrick's Day, Ireland is well known in our country for its beer, potatoes and the Irish spring bath soap commercials Ireland and St. Patrick's Day along with leprechauns and pots of gold are closely linked in our popular culture, too. This is a fun holiday and I have written a fun article in its honor but there is useful gardening information tucked throughout. I mean, what's the first home remedy people offer for slugs? (See answer at end of article!) St. Patrick's Day is a day to wear green and party! So tradition being what it is, our school children are busy making shamrocks and leprechaun pictures this week and our college students are busy planning parties involving prodigious quantities of green beer. Why that is I don't know because certainly, as mentioned in A Wee Bit O' Fun , the Irish certainly do not drink green beer. Just in case you find yourself with some leftover beer after the holiday, keep in mind that stale beer is often touted as a good bait for catching slugs. Which brings me to the yucky focus of this week's article. SLUGS . There is nothing like a line of slug slime to set a gardener's sights on revenge. And since gardeners are resourceful people, they've come up with all kinds of methods for fighting the little goobers. Mention slugs and gardeners will come out in force to commiserate and share war stories. Some folks, however, really wish we wouldn't do that indiscriminately: check outA Naturalist's View of the Benign Banana Slug . Gardeners who suffer from mere ordinary slugs and would prefer slug eradication and decimation over relocation will love Margaret Van Emmerick's Slug and Snail FAQ . This site has the best collection of slug lore and information I have ever seen. Plus it is an absolute hoot. For some reason, slug talk just brings out the sense of humor in all of us. Check this (sorry link is gone now, but trust me)quickly goofy discussion thread for a good example. To be so humbled by the lowly slug.... I don't know what it is about slugs, but there are even home pages like this one from the Slug Connoisseuse
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Barbara M. Martin's Cottage Garden topic, please visit the Discussions page. |
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