I have had some success using Neem oil spray mixed with dish soap concentrate to help reduce thrips which get really bad late summer here in Phoenix, AZ. They do affect the lizzies I’ve been growing some but the roses are always the worst. If done right it doesn’t reduce the good bugs too much. Only spray without any sun and haven’t tried spraying on the lizzies yet. Thanks for the blog! Thinking of propagating some lizzie cuttings I just took and this has been helpful.

Hi Sadie – I did have a horrid slug problem before I adopted regenerative practices and stopped disturbing the soil/environment so much. Since I’ve perennialized my dahlias, slugs have diminished greatly because of what you have already started to observe there in your own space: the predators come when the ecosystem is stable. No only garter snakes but ground beetles. Ground beetles are voracious slug hunters, both of adults and eggs. But ground beetles hate disturbance so they won’t come into a growing space that’s subject to heavy mowing, tilling, digging, etc. The toads and salamanders will come too and eat slugs.

For a few years I did employ an organic product called Sluggo Plus to help get keep the slugs in check. But I don’t need that anymore now that the natural predators are there.

Regarding voles/moles, I’ve not had any issues with them in my overwintered dahlias. I have two cats that live outside on the farm and are constantly on the prowl.

I do take the mulch of once they start pushing up. But they should be able to push through on their own. I just like to remove it so it’s not clinging to the flowers when I go to harvest. One less step to clean them up and process them then.

I kept my tubers in an unheated storage unit in containers with sawdust and wood shavings and they got hammered – it froze in there two yrs in a row with record low temps in the teens – last yr my medium was just damp enough to form ice! Even this year in dry horse bedding shavings with the containers covered in blankets, they still froze and rotted. I was heartbroken. I lost favorites that I can’t even find anymore.

Now i never want to dig them again! So fed up with all that work only to lose them all! so I hope you have answers for how to repel slugs (and voles) without pesticides – and I intend to try this method and maybe only dig a very few favorites. I love the garter snakes and want to encourage them, even though they also eat frogs and salamanders and other beneficials. Slugs though… they are so tough to deal with! . Thanks for any help you can give on slug and snail control. So happy to find your youtube channel and this blog!

I plant mine on the north side of my house and in my garden behind on in the shade of shrubs.

Hi Jennie , I am using your method of No Till Tulips. The tulips are just coming up on 02/03/2023 , after moving a bit of straw and checking their progress this morning. I was wondering if I should remove the straw? I put it on pretty thick.