On Sunday, we had a question on protecting hostas from slugs – on the BBC radio gardening programme I sit in on.
My panel team mate Nick Turrell and I talked about using Strulch Mulch – a mineralised straw mulch that’s got a scratchy surface that slugs don’t like.
We also mentioned a garlic wash spray we have both tried and tested. We found it works a treat. It deters slugs, but does not poison them. This means the slugs are left available as food for birds and mammals such as hedgehogs. You’ll need to repeat the treatment regularly, especially after rain. I put my mixture in a 3l Hozelock sprayer and leave it in the potting shed ready to treat them. I’ve found it also deters aphids and is good for spraying roses.
The recipe comes from Sienna Hosta, a multi- gold medal winning nursery specialising in hostas. They do not use any other chemical treatments.
Here is a snapshot of their website showing their recipe for the garlic spray.
Here’s a link to their website.
https://www.siennahosta.co.uk/pages/garlic-wash-recipe
We also talked about no-dig gardening, protecting soils and coping with flooding. Charles Dowding is the expert on no-dig.
https://charlesdowding.co.uk/courses/
Here’s the link for Strulch Mulch.
Here’s a link to the radio programme BBC Radio Leicester’s Sunday Supplement. We are the middle hour of Dave Andrews’ show.
At 1.09.16 on the timeline at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p07sc852
We also mentioned our appeal for hedgehog food from Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital. They have 260 hedgehogs in their care and are taking in around 10 a day. Hedgehogs are either ill, underweight or injured having been washed out of their nests in the floods. Hedgehogs eat meaty dog food, the solid loaf -type, and not containing gravy, jelly, or made with fish. They also desperately need puppy milk for the babies, and heat pads and incubators. They have an amazon wish list and an appeal fund.
http://www.leicesterwildlifehospital.org/
And also we talked about Belvoir Castle Flower and Garden Festival which was launched this week :
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/belvoir-castle-flower-and-garden-show-tickets-77976360393
Bramble Garden 