mint Posted June 1, 2008 Author Share Posted June 1, 2008 Any chance of finding out what this stuff is? Do you think you could ask somebody what it's called and whether it is readily available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastet Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 I'll try asking our across-the-road neighbour when I see him next. He used to be in charge of public works here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastet Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Okay folks, it appears that the mulch our commune is using something called 'Paille de Chanvre'. The best translation I can come up with is that this is shredded hemp. The commune have obtained it from a garden centre in Melle, 79, where coincidentally, the wife of the Chef de Commune works. It's behind Intermarché, where Mr Bricolage used to be. I have no idea of cost or its availability in other garden centres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 Bastet, thank you so much for taking the trouble to find out and for coming back to post your answer.I'll ask at the agricole coop to begin with and will "rechercher", as the French say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastet Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 My pleasure. I just hope I've read his writing correctly. It could have been chauvre, so I posted a question on a language/dictionary forum about mulch possibilities and the response was it was definitely chanvre. If it wasn't for the fact that the cats would probably love it as a loo, I'd look into getting it for our garden.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 Do you have cats, Bastet, you lucky person!Even if they do use the stuff as a loo, they'd cover it all up so, as long as you always wear gloves when you're gardening, it shouldn't be a problem![:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tegwini Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 I've tried soot & bits of ash from the barbeque- they do seem to work, and holly likewise - a bit easier since I have lots in a hedge - I just snip bits off & surround special plants.Snails can be picked off & thrown onto the road (or next door?!) slugs I often throw onto the driveway hoping the birds will get them. I do sometimes wonder if slugs are really tasty to them. So many slugs & snails around now with all this rain, difficult around vegetables, it is a real problem to protect them. With flowers it's diffucult if you are a bird lover.. I have used slug pellets, but feel guilty using them- I worry that my bird-brained feathered friends may decide to eat them, but I doubt that dogs would.RegardsTegwini Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 I am too cowardly to kill anything but the crushed egg-shells and walnut-shells seem to be detering the slugs.I, too, worry about slug pellets.Don't know what killed the squirrel the dog brought in this evening. I don't think that she was the killer on this occasion as the squirrel was quite stiff so it would have been killed sometime ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastet Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Was in Melle today so checked out the garden centre & found that this product is actually sold as Paillis Chanvre, (did I say I couldn't read the handwriting?) and is in 100 litre bags for approx 19€. That amount supposedly covers 2-3 sq m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 Nice bit of investigation there, Bastet, and thanks again for reporting back. Does it seem a bit expensive to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meg Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Copper tape works really well. In the veggie patch you can cut the top and bottom off of plastic bottles to go over the plant and put a ring of the tape round it. Same around plant pots. I tried a mixture of hair and eggshells around some parsley i just planted out, but no luck it had all been totally scoffed by the morning. [:@]I am growing melons/cucumbers, and as the plants were getting eaten so much while in pots, i planted them out quite early with a lot of sand around the base, and they have survived!MIL has tried nematodes with very limited results.My newest hobby is slug slinging. [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastet Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 "...does it seem a bit expensive to you?"Yes, it's certainly not cheap at that rate of coverage, but I suppose you could just pile it around the vulnerable plants, not cover the ground in between...It's also possible that the price varies with other suppliers but I haven't been anywhere else to look for it...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 Yes, that seems good advice, Bastet, just putting it around the vulnerable plants. And I suppose that if it lasts quite a while, then you could buy some as and when you put in new plants and, eventually, you'd have covered most of the areas you want to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Just saw this on 'This Morning' lasts from year to year. http://www.just-green.com/ProductDetails/mcs/referrer/froogle/productID/923/groupID/69/categoryID/976 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 Many thanks, RH; you are so kind and helpful as per usual.Looks like these people have some unusual products plus they will deliver outside the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 This was the other thing they recommended that I fancy trying :http://www.harrodhorticultural.com/HarrodSite/product/Organic_Feeds_and_Fertilisers_Granular_Plant_Food/GFE-342.htmI'm not suggesting you have THAT shipped though ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 Rh, do you think that dog's fur would work as well?I have been reduced to cutting the dog's fur myself as toileteurs are either too expensive, too far away or because OH thinks the dog wouldn't like them![:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Sheep have a slight oiliness to their woll I think, and that may be what does the trick re water rentiontion - if you have the fur anyway, what have you got to lose ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonzjob Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I have just posted this on another thread, but here goes again.An old way of getting rid of slugs is to put the tough outer cabage leaves down around the plants you want to protect. In the morning you lift the leaves and there are your lovely slugs, all ready for disposal. Safe for the pets and wild life. You can re position them in the neighbours garden if you don't like him/her or you can dispose (kill) them by dropping them into some white spirit. They are not too keen n that[6]!!The problem with using salt is that it makes suck an unholy sticky mess!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 Thanks for the tip, Jonz. Sounds like a nice, clean, easy disposal. They really have been the bane of my life this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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