I've always just dumped my coffee grounds into the compost, but recently read that sprinkling them around young plants can deter slugs and snails. Has anyone had success with that or is it another useless internet "tip"?
I've never found it to be any use @SYinUSA. I don't drink a lot of coffee, but when I do, I sometimes tip the grounds out around my Ligularia [which is a slug magnet] but I know it won't do anything. The coffee 'water' is of more use to the plant. I usually just stick them in the small compost bin beside the back door, which gets put into the big one when full. I think you'd need a huge amount if you did try it. The kind of height where they might need a rope and crampons to get over it.... They climb up the broken shell render on my house no problem, so I doubt coffee grounds will make any difference to them!
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I tip them out around my hostas … we have a lot of snails and it doesn’t completely beat them, but i hope it might make them slightly less keen on that part of the garden than they used to be … and it certainly doesn’t do any harm 😊
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
You made me come out in a cold sweat there, @Fairygirl. I have 3 different Ligularias, growing in a moist, semi-shaded area, and some years the slugs totally decimate them. I have found slug pubs, filled with the cheapest beer sometimes helps.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
The article indicated it was the caffeine in the grounds that deterred the slugs/snails, not a physical barrier. A liquid might absorb into the soil better though, so I may soak the used grounds in water and use that. I'm not completely convinced it is snail damage on my poor hostas (maybe moth caterpillars or grasshoppers), but as Dove says, it won't hurt to try.
I'm afraid I can't use beer @punkdoc, for reasons I don't want to put here. It's a shame because the foliage is one of the big attractions on the variety I have - L. 'Britt-Marie Crawford'. Deep olive-y green on the surface, and purple/ plum underneath. I occasionally use slug pellets, very sparingly, but I'd be using them umpteen times a day to keep the little b*ggers away, so most of the time I just put up with it. The main one is by the pond, and in gravel, but that makes no difference of course.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
@Fairygirl try stirring some hot water into a tablespoon of cooking molasses ... (or at a push black treacle) and putting that into a slug pub ... I've seen slugs queue up for that ...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Might try that @Dovefromabove. Not heard of that method. Ta muchly
I'm fairly sure we have black treacle, although it's probably rock solid by now! Haven't made a C'mas cake or puddings in yonks, and that was the main use for it.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
The article indicated it was the caffeine in the grounds that deterred the slugs/snails, not a physical barrier. A liquid might absorb into the soil better though, so I may soak the used grounds in water and use that. I'm not completely convinced it is snail damage on my poor hostas (maybe moth caterpillars or grasshoppers), but as Dove says, it won't hurt to try.
Sorry - I didn't see your post re the caffeine. Maybe that's the idea then. I just chuck some water into the cafetiere, then pour it out on the compost bin, or round the plant. Slugs and snails love hostas unfortunately. I gave up on them, apart from one I have which is fairly good at repelling them. I like them, but it's too much bother in a smaller garden. Plants have to earn their keep
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
I think you'd need a huge amount if you did try it. The kind of height where they might need a rope and crampons to get over it....
They climb up the broken shell render on my house no problem, so I doubt coffee grounds will make any difference to them!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
It's a shame because the foliage is one of the big attractions on the variety I have - L. 'Britt-Marie Crawford'. Deep olive-y green on the surface, and purple/ plum underneath.
I occasionally use slug pellets, very sparingly, but I'd be using them umpteen times a day to keep the little b*ggers away, so most of the time I just put up with it.
The main one is by the pond, and in gravel, but that makes no difference of course.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I'm fairly sure we have black treacle, although it's probably rock solid by now! Haven't made a C'mas cake or puddings in yonks, and that was the main use for it.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I just chuck some water into the cafetiere, then pour it out on the compost bin, or round the plant.
Slugs and snails love hostas unfortunately. I gave up on them, apart from one I have which is fairly good at repelling them. I like them, but it's too much bother in a smaller garden. Plants have to earn their keep
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border