The Grovestead
  •  Blog
  •  Events
  •  Publications
    • Durable Trades
    • Audio Recordings
    • The Grovestead Newsletter
  •  Gather & Grow
  •  About Us

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

The Grovestead
The Grovestead
  •  Blog
  •  Events
  •  Publications
    • Durable Trades
    • Audio Recordings
    • The Grovestead Newsletter
  •  Gather & Grow
  •  About Us
  •  Blog
  •  Events
    • Farm Camp
    • Workshops
    • Internships
  •  Publications
    • Durable Trades
    • The Grovestead Newsletter
  •  Farm Stand
  •  About Us
  • Gardening

Cure for the common slug?

  • June 4, 2014
  • No comments
  • 324 views
  • Rory

Slugs or caterpillars eating my strawberry leaves

I made quite a few improvements this year to my strawberry-growing strategy. I placed them up high in raised beds, mulched them heavily to keep the weeds at bay, and have bird netting ready to install. And so far, the strawberries have come in nicely, even surviving a deer attack. But when I saw the picture above, I realized I forgot about the slugs. Last year, the slugs got what the birds, the deer, the rabbits, and my 3-year old son didn’t. There are many interesting things people do to deal slugs in their strawberries: beer traps, salt, diatomaceous earth, organic toxins, non-organic toxins, and plain old squishing. They all have pros and cons. I was going to use diatomaceous earth because I have it on hand. DE is powdered remains of fossilized hard-shelled algae. Its completely harmless to humans, but is an effective insecticide because the microscopic crushed shells destroy insects that traverse across them. However, I was lucky to discover that among the affected insects would be honeybees who pollinate strawberry flowers. So DE was out. But another organic remedy was a perfect fit: wood ashes. Ashes are a garden additive, in fact. If your soil is too acidic, spreading ashes will help balance it (similar to lime used in farming). And I’ve got plenty of ashes.

Ash pan inside my cabin office

I’ve been collecting ashes from the wood burning stove in my office cabin all winter. I knew there would be possible uses for it in my garden, so never got rid of it. Now I’m glad I didn’t! I spread the ashes around the base of each plant in one of the beds. Ashes placed around strawberry plants to deter slugs

Of course, I have to run a proper experiment, so I’m holding off on treating the second bed until I know if it works.

0
0
0
Receive a Once-Weekly E-mail with New Blog Posts:

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Avatar photo
Rory

Rory Groves moved his family from the city to the country several years ago to begin the journey towards a more durable way of life. Rory and his wife Becca now reside in southern Minnesota where they farm, raise livestock, host workshops, and homeschool their six children. He is the author of Durable Trades: Family-Centered Economies That Have Stood the Test of Time.

Tags
  • slugs
  • Strawberries
  • Weeds & Pests
  • wood ash


Gather & Grow Events

Gather & Grow is our non-profit ministry dedicated to "Rebuilding the Family Economy."

VIEW EVENTS


Durable Trades is Now Available!

Our new book about sustainable, home-based, family-centered professions was just published!

DETAILS & SAMPLE CHAPTER


Receive our Print Newsletter!

We publish a free quarterly newsletter to encourage Christian families and cover articles about farming, family, and faith.

DETAILS & SIGN-UP

You May Also Like
View Post
  • Family
  • Gardening

The Three Sisters Garden

  • October 1, 2021
  • Becca
View Post
  • Family
  • Farming
  • Gardening

Book Review at Countryside

  • February 23, 2021
  • Rory
View Post
  • Family
  • Farming
  • Gardening

Book Review on Mother Earth News

  • January 6, 2021
  • Rory
View Post
  • Food
  • Gardening

Division and Multiplication

  • November 13, 2020
  • Becca
View Post
  • Food
  • Gardening

Nettles the Superfood

  • May 8, 2020
  • Rory
View Post
  • Gardening

Foraging for Medicinal Herbs

  • April 29, 2020
  • Rory
View Post
  • Farming
  • Gardening

Where’s the Beef? It’s time to build our own supply chains.

  • April 25, 2020
  • Rory
View Post
  • Gardening

Herbalism and Medicinal Gardening

  • April 16, 2020
  • Rory

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts
  • How Much to Grow?
    • January 14, 2023
    • 248 views
  • A Table for Generations
    • December 26, 2022
    • 272 views
  • Good News for Mothers
    • December 24, 2022
    • 235 views
Popular Posts
  • Where’s the Beef? It’s time to build our own supply chains.
    • April 25, 2020
    • 23.4K views
  • Managed Intensive Rotational Grazing for Sheep
    • December 27, 2016
    • 13.2K views
  • Boiling maple sap over home-built evaporator
    How to Build an Evaporator (from stuff laying around)
    • April 12, 2014
    • 9.7K views
Mailing List

Be notified of events and goings on at the Grovestead!

Contact
The Grovestead
  •  Blog
  •  Events
  •  Publications
  •  Gather & Grow
  •  About Us
Copyright © 2022 by The Grovestead. All Rights Reserved.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.