Soggy Means Snails

We've had several days of glorious, soaking rain. It not only slakes the thirst of the parched, drought-blighted earth, but washes the evil oak pollen out of the air and subsequently out of my nasal passages. Stupid trees make me sneeze and want to claw my face off.

A quick cruise through our various beds this morning confirms that the snails have been having a big ol' party. They decapitated nearly all of my marigolds. I thought marigolds were meant to keep pests away, not entice them.

I suspect tonight will be a good snail hunting night. Ever gone on a snail hunt? Grab a bucket and a flashlight and start looking for the creeps and plop them one by one in your bucket. Empty bucket in neighbor's yard across the street. What? They don't have a garden! It's better than mass murder, right? (I've done that too, I'll spare the details).

When the ground dries, we'll sprinkle some more Sluggo around which we've been assured is organic and non-toxic to pets and other creatures in the garden. Chuk had success with it last year in his pepper garden, and I'm already tired of decapitated marigolds, so I'm going to give it a try in my herb/ornamental beds.

This year we are experimenting with a cinder block bed. In it I've got some zucchini, eggplant, yard long beans (which are looking a little punier than the Kentucky Wonder Beans in Chuk's pepper garden), a few headless marigolds, and plenty of room for more herbs.

So far so good in the cinder block bed, although I have a sneaking suspicion that Chuk may have used too much peat moss when filling it in with dirt. I'm waiting until it gets really hot to decide if it's too much. It may work better in the dead of summer to keep moisture in.

I'm tempted to go to the nursery today, but since the ground is way too soft to work with, I wouldn't be able to buy anything. This year I have a strict rule that I will not buy a plant unless it goes in the ground that very day. Period, no exceptions. I have killed many plants by letting them suffer in pots, eventually forgetting about them until I notice they're just pathetic sticks.

So far, I've planted:
Ornamental:
Alyssum
Dianthus
Bachelor Buttons
Marigolds
Red Penta
Texas Star Hibiscus
Firecracker Plant

Herbs:
Chocolate Mint
Variegated Pineapple Mint
Corsican Mint
Spearmint
Purple Sage
Greek Oregano
Lemon Thyme
English Thyme
Tarragon
Sweet Globe Basil
Cinnamon Basil
Purple basil

Veggies:
Some kind of eggplant
Some kind of zucchini
Yard long beans (red not green)

I've also started a new ornamental bed which I will fill with jasmine and moonflowers. I need to cut back the ligustrum that blocks a good portion of the morning light first though. But I'm not allowed to use the chain saw. I'm accident prone. :o)