Noah Robinson

May Lotito wrote:Thanks Noah for sharing! The spots do look like bacterial or fungal infections. Do you recall any unusual weather before the spots showed up, like heavy rain immediately followed by sunny days? That is the recipe for fungal outbreak and sometimes sudden death in my plants. Top dressing with compost and building up healthy soil help keeping pathogens in check. Mints root very easily so you will get the plant growing back just fine.

The plant came to me with a few leaves already like this, so i don't know what the weather was like where it came from. I did cut off the leaves that were infected but it still spread. While i had the plant it was indoors. It had one good water when it was potted then it was left with no water. I did not water the leaves, of course, just the soil. It was maybe a week or so in the window and the plant was half covered in the same blobs. It seemed to move up the plant, but maybe it was just because the infection started at the bottom.
Luckily it doesn't look like it spread to any of the other plants in the window, and the two cuttings so far look like they are clean too. I will be watching them closely!

This was a freebie so no big deal if it dies.
I just realised i called it spanish mint in the original post. It is swiss mint. Not sure why i said spanish hopefully i can edit that and correct it now.

After some research i have come to the conclusion that this is likely early stages of mint rust.
From what i read if you let it get too far it can spread around your garden like crazy. To be safe i have thrown away the plant, soil and pot, double bagged.
I have 10-15 types of mint in my garden so i don't want to risk keeping it around.

I did take 2 small cuttings from tips that were not showing any signs (yet), which i am attempting to root in water. Fingers crossed they are okay. As soon as i see any signs of rust i will throw them out too.

I will leave this here in case it can help somebody else in the future.

Can anybody help me ID this problem with my swiss mint plant?
There are lots of tiny blobs, almost like blisters or maybe egg sacks. I can't find any bugs but they might be hiding from me.
The plant arrived with a couple of leaves like this, which i cut off, but i came back about a week later and the problem had spread.
I have attached a picture but it is not a great attempt. It is the best i can do, sorry.

Any ideas?

Jay Angler wrote:
I loved your long response - you summarized the key points well, and gave us feedback as to what you've tried and what you're hoping to try.

Welcome the nicest, most helpful, most supportive site on the world wide web. I hope you've found a home here!
(and I agree with the duck idea - duck eggs are awesome for baking. Pets with benefits!)

Thank you for the warm welcome <3
I do eat a lot of eggs, chicken usually, so i think i will save a lot of money if i go for it. You are really selling it to me here
Thank you

Oliver Huynh wrote:Hello,

I would add two things that seem to work better for me this year :

- Never water on the surface. Filling a planting hole with water before planting instead of watering after, buried drip lines and ollas do not attract slugs as much. Above-ground watering on a dry soil in the evening can be a death sentence.
- Slugs seem to be quite disoriented when an orderly garden becomes a urban jungle. The more greenery I have, the less slugs I see and the less damage.

Have a nice evening,
Oliver

Thank you. Great ideas for keeping the soil surface dry. I will keep those in mind and do my best to stick to them. At the moment i water in the morning in hopes that it will dry for the day, but it's not always that simple. I have also been thinking about drip lines a lot recently, mostly to take a load off my shoulders, but this is another great reason to go for it. Thank you.
I was wondering about this "jungle" situation. I like to let my garden become overgrown and what most people would consider to be out of control. I read online a lot of people saying that gives snails and slugs a place to hide and they recommend cleaning it up, but i was not convinced as it also gives them more food to eat that is not my food. The jungle also should attract other predators in theory. I will continue to not cut my grass and let everything get out of control
Thank you

Joao Winckler wrote:Yeah urban gardens are rough for slugs. No hedgehogs, no ground beetles, nothing to keep them in check. Nematodes are the only thing that's actually worked for me, everything else just slows them down a bit. Worth doing in spring before the population explodes.

I have not tried nematodes yet. They have worked great for fungus gnats in the past so i will give them a try next spring. Thank you

Jay Angler wrote:
One year when slugs were particularly bad, I put down some damp, flat boards. The slugs would hide under them, so I'd tilt them up and sometimes kill as many as 20 slugs with "percussive maintenance".

I have not tried this yet either, i will try that ASAP, along side my current attempts. Thank you

Jay Angler wrote:
I know of some people who go out with a flashlight after dark and cull them that way. Not my favorite technique, but I've used it and will try it tonight as something ate my baby Marigolds and I would like to exact revenge.

Going out at night with a flashlight was my main technique last year, but i went out every night for months and there was always more! It felt like it was dominating my life and it never seemed to make a dent in the population. I think your boards technique will be a little easier and less time consuming.
They also destroyed my marigolds this year, at least, something did!

Jay Angler wrote:
And if a rant will help you feel better ...

The rant did make me feel a little better actually, less alone thank you

Jill Dyer wrote:
I bet a yeast in water + a little sugar would also work

This is basically what i am doing now with a little luck, sometimes when paired with manual removal. I use water, yeast, sugar and flour (the flour is supposed to kill them, but it doesn't always work)

Jill Dyer wrote:
Crushed eggshells surrounding plants is a folk remedy and allegedly doesn't work

I can confirm this does not work. I tried this a few years ago and it seemed to work great, i couldn't believe how great it was, then the next year it didn't work at all and it never worked again since, so i think it was just a coincidence the first year. I have seen videos of snails crawling over razor blades, so egg shells was never going to work. At least it was great for the soil though.

Jill Dyer wrote:
I've seen a fitting for the top of a fence that rolls and puts cats off balance

I have also seen this, it looks like a great idea to me and i have a plan to build them as soon as i get the chance. I only have a 4 foot fence on one side though, so first job is to get a 6 foot fence put up, Once my resources permit it.

Jill Dyer wrote:
Edit to add: - found this further down. . .https://permies.com/t/373413/yeast-water-garden

I also found that. I commented on that too Thank you

Tereza Okava wrote:
I am also dealing with am invading cat right now. The only real thing I've found has been to be outside and throw things at it-- although the damn thing still comes back!

This seems to be the best thing for me too They do come back for a while but they eventually seem to learn. For the most part i have the cats under control at the moment, until the new cat on the block turns up, then it will all start again.

Mart Hale wrote:
Bill Mulliison used to say,  if you have an snail problem you have a lack of ducks problem.

My wife has been talking about getting ducks. We don't have much space but we are seriously considering a couple of them. This might seal the deal. Thank you.

Mart Hale wrote:
Now, I am looking into nematodes that do snails in .....

I am also going to try this. You are the second person to say this so it's definitely worth a try. They are relatively cheap too.

G Freden wrote:I love my ducks;  they are the ultimate slug and snail predator, and they are not destructive amongst the plants like chickens are.  However as I recently learned, they may not be ideal as urban livestock:
https://permies.com/t/371325/Noisy-ducks-waking-neighbours

Thank you. I have a loud dog on each side of me and i don't mind, so have never complained. So i think they can get over some quacking

Nancy Reading wrote:
Try leaving a gap at the bottom of your fences (if applicable) so that hedgehogs can get through.

I was worried to do this in case it was more of an invite for cats and foxes. But perhaps i should give it a try. Thank you.

Nancy Reading wrote:
Cats are supposed to dislike citrus

My wife has been throwing lemon peels in the garden regularly, we read that it discourages foxes, which doesn't seem to work. Maybe this is why we have not had many problems with cats recently though. We will keep doing that! And i did notice certain slugs like to gather in them some nights, but only certain species, most of them don't seem interested.

Nancy Reading wrote:
I used to make sure there was plenty of organic litter on the ground as mulch to encourage beetles

I recently started just throwing cut leaves etc on the ground of my beds as part of my attempt to learn no-till. Hopefully this will help. This is the first year i have done it so we will see how it goes. I did notice a few days ago that snails were eating the litter instead of the plants, so it might be a win win! Thank you.

-

Sorry for the long response, i wanted to try to respond to everybody as you have all taken the time to help me out.
Thank you all for your help and moral support! I have been occasionally lurking and thinking about joining this forum for a while now. I'm glad i did! It looks like a great community here. I am looking forward to getting to know you all and getting involved for many years to come
Thank you! <3

John Weiland wrote:I'm sure I posted it in another thread some years back....  Not for improved growth, but as a slug bait.  Yeast + sugar + water, mixed, poured into empty cat-food cans that are sunk into the ground so that the can lip is at ground level.  Slugs are very attracted to the 'bouquet' and crawl in and drown.  

....only we had one more variable.  After the concoction had fermented, our pot-bellied pig got into the garden and drank all of the brew.  In the aftermath, wife and I concluded that the pig leaned more towards the 'mean drunk' side of inebriation.   We switched to diatomaceous earth for slug control after that episode.... ;-/

This is a trick i use regularly. It works great to bait the slugs and snails, but they often do not drown. It does give them something to aim for other than my plants though! I use a slightly different method though, but i will adapt it now and make my traps deeper if i can find something to use (I don't get many cans).

My variable was a crow. It came and took one of my traps away and carried it off to a neighbors roof, where it left the unwanted tray full of liquid cake mix, which then started to dribble down the roof.
I had to knock on the neighbors door and explain what happened and volunteer to come clean the mess up when it finally falls off. Luckily she found it funny and there were no upsets.

Is it just me, or are pests harder to deal with in an urban garden?
I have a huge problem with slugs and snails primarily. There are cats all over that come in to my garden and leave their waste, which I hear is food for slugs and snails. I can't get any natural predators in to eat them because there are none around, no matter how inviting my garden is for them.

I also seem to have a problem with aphids and leaf miners every year, though I think that is not an urban problem and could just be a matter of encouraging the right predators. I do have plenty of ladybugs/ladybirds, but they can't seem to keep up.

Then there are the pesky foxes that dig out my beds, and the cats that poop in them. I build chicken wire fences and covers to deal with those, which is a drain on my energy, but a necessary evil in this environment I think.

Anybody have advice? or care to join my rant?
I am in UK by the way, if that makes any difference.

I can't really answer your question, but i feel i should give my input on material choices. I did a deep dive into materials when swapping out all my teflon poison in my kitchen and it turns out it is a minefield!
I am seeing stainless steel suggested, but you should be aware that acidic foods will corrode stainless steel, which then gets into your food. As far as my research showed me, stainless steel corrodes below pH 6, which many stews will fall below. Stainless steel contains nickle and chromium, both of which are toxic, particularly chromium. This is usually okay (i think) if you are cleaning your cookware quickly after using it, but with a perpetual stew you are soaking the pot all the time, slowly corroding the material.

I never did complete my research fully, but as per usual the best bet seemed to be the natural and surface materials such as clay and ceramic (not accounting for coatings, of course). Certain glasses also turned out to be safe, depending on the composition, but generally they won't be very good for perpetual stews. This is not really the answer you were looking for, but definitely something worth keeping in mind.