Carolyn's Inbox

What an excellent idea. I'm going to pinch this!!

I didn't realise there were so many sick, cruel gardeners out there. Don't know if any of the tips has helped me get rid of the slugs but they have given me a good laugh.

I used to love the lone ranger! these are ace

I hope the net worked and you harvested your strawberries. Or are they still in the making?

Your local college may well have some short courses which might help - depends on how deep you want to dig (if you'll excuse the expression...)

Curly carrots!

Yum, I didn't plant any this year as I am the only one in my house who likes them. I hope you enjoy eating them!

Are you looking for a qualification or just a Horticultural course, Carolyn? There are the RHS courses which you can either do at home by correspondence, with an exam at the end, you can go from level 2 up to a full-blown diploma. Or there are correspondence courses, one of which I am doing, which are more practically-focussed. I suggest that as a first step, log on to the RHS website at www.rhs.org.uk and look for the 'education' section. This will show you the prospectus for the RHS courses. If you want any info. on the correspondence courses, please dont hesitate to send me a private message and I'll try to help, with info on the College etc.The RHS Gardens do day courses on particular gardening aspects, if you just want a short course - but you need to be within travelling distance! Hope this helps.

Well saved!

Good bargin

Blimey Carolyn what a peculiar question what are you actually looking for? horticulture,landscape,or container gardening..or something else...
Best Wishes
Kev

Wonderful wellies !

I often use the famous Jedi mind trick:

''Snail move along - these are not the plants you are looking for''

Works a treat for me :0)

Spritzhenry - Apparently Snails are supposed to have a homing instinct just as powerful as that of a pigeon, but it doesn't work over long distances. Grab a snail from under a rock etc, move it about 2-3 feet away, put a spot on the shell with a marker pen and it will head back to it's home and crawl back under the rock.

I know it doesn't work over long distances because a snail once had the nerve to munch on a hosta in our garden. I grabbed him, put him in a box and drove to Cornwall (I live just outside Stratford Upon Avon). I released him there and have never seen him since. Humans 1 - Snails 0

chopsticks-I like a challenge!

Yes please! I'd love to be in your next group! By the way, last year I picked out 24 snails from an Agapanthus plant, put them in my (empty) trug about 8' away and went off to get something. When I came back, they had all gone from the trug. I looked at the Agapanthus again - and there they all were! Does that show intelligence or the opposite?

I normally ask politely for them to leave my garden. If they refuse, i will wrestle them to the ground and then use Escargo-Fu, to throw or kick them into complience. If anyone is interested I do hold classes for this most ancient of martial arts.

I usually pick them up by hand and then run my fingers through some sandy soil, but if there are a lot I wear a glove. but if pellets have been used you need to be really careful. They are poisonous the poor old Slugs and Snails are harmless to humans

I've heard slugs are territorial, so will try to return to their patch. (Anyone know more about this?). So I scoop them (wee plastic plant label to keep the irremoveable slime off my fingers!) into an old marg tub, and take them a couple of miles away and over the river before releasing them into the wild - a long way from any other gardens! Seems to work as well as anything.

I pick them up on my trowel & throw them as far as i can, if they are in the front garden i throw them into the middle of the road.

Lyd , im starting to get paranoid now lol

Snails are easy - by the shell, by hand, but slugs get picked up on the tip of my trowel with me going 'yeuch' and then they all go for a brief fly through the air and a splash! as they swim away down the stream.

I just pick them up and throw them into my recycling bin Nice one Lyd might just start doing that lol

pick them up then use a catapult to launch them to ireland i heard they love them over there lol

I cant touch them,eeeeee, but the granchildren love collecting in a bucket,

I slice them in half with a trowel and leave them for the hedgehogs.

That was a Megaslug Carolyn..... ooh it sounds revolting!

Carolyn, The absolute easiest way is to skewer them with one of those short thin green canes you can buy in packs, just like making a kebab, then you can slide them off useing another implement into a bucket of salt water, you can dispose of dozens at a time with this method.

Dont pick them up Carolyn
Throw some household salt on them and watch them explode :) its much more fun :O)

i dont mind picking snails up by hand but slugs i scoop up in empty plant pots lol