Get Rid Of Snails Naturally

Many people want to get rid of snails in their yard, but they have pets, an outside cat or a dog, so they hesitate to use any chemical-based snail baits.

Not a problem - use dry dog or cat food to lure snails away from your plants.

I actually forgot about this trick, but last week I set out a dish of dry cat food for a neighbor's cat, and the next morning it was filled to the brim with snails.

What you can do is:

1. Get a tin foil pie pan and cut a few notches along the rim so that when you set it on the ground you have created a few "doors" for the snails to come in

2. Pour some dry cat or dog food where you want the snails to come

3. Put the tin foil pan upside down and weight it down with a rock

4. Next morning, you can scoop up the snails and get rid of them. I tend to put them in a bag and toss the in the trash

If you have never tried this, do. It's fast, easy, and if you already have dry dog or cat food, inexpensive!

How To Tell Euphorbia from Cacti

I was on a plant walk the other day, and one of the group didn't know how to tell Euphorbia from Cacti. Although, like so many things in life, there are always exceptions to the rule, here are the main key things to look for:

1. Euphorbia(Euphorbiaceae) - although they are a succulent and spine-bearing, they have no areoles.

2. The Cacti (Cactaceae) - is showing large, white spines borne on the areoles, the key diagnostic feature of the family Cactaceae. Only the family Cactaceae bears structures called "areoles." An areole is a pad structure that is seen at the base of the spines. Even if a cactus has no spines it will have areoles.

3. As a last resort, if you really need to know, the sap of the plant will tell you. Carefully make a cut, and if the sap is milky white and sticky, then it's a Euphorbia. If the sap is clear and watery, it's a cactus. Just be careful because Euphorbia sap can cause skin irritation, so if you're going to try this, wear gloves to be safe.

Not to confuse the issue, but many plants (such as Euphorbiaceae, Rosaceae, Punicaceae, etc.) produce spines, but no other plants bear areoles, only Cactaceae.

Hope this helps you identify cacti from euphorbia - at least most of the time!

Garden Photography Contest

So many gardeners, and garden bloggers, take wonderful pictures. Please feel free to enter the Weekend Gardener Web Magazine Photography Contest!

Winners receive a gold medal with their names engraved on them, and it's a lot of fun to see what others have entered.

So don't be shy - enter today: Garden Photography Contest