[compost_tea] Snails Day 4
Well folks I really have to say that my snail experiment has been a bomb. =
The snails don't seem to care whether there is tea on the plants in the 4 c=
ans or not. Even the added humic acid did nothing in the 2 cans I used it =
in. I'm sure it is my tea and my brewing technique because so many others =
have reported such high success. So, I tried a different experiment earl=
y this AM.
The snails were just finding a place to attach (7:00 AM) and, I suspect, sl=
eep for the day. I went out and picked some off the lily plant and got a n=
ew trash can. I took 5 pieces of broad leaf lettuce. The snails love this=
stuff in the garden. I then soaked two of the pieces in tea and left the =
others with no tea. I put them on the bottom of the can so they were each =
in a separate area (Star burst shape with tea pieces in opposing spokes) th=
at I could doument not just dumped in randomly. I put the snails (15 of th=
em) in the can and went off to water and other things. I just looked at th=
e can. Every single snail had moved onto the two leaves with tea totally l=
eaving the other leaves alone. They all woke up or moved when they normall=
y did not and they moved to the lettuce with the tea not to the lettuce wit=
hout the tea.
So, from my perspecive, in my yard, with my brewing techniques and in seemi=
ng total contradiction to other's experience that has been well documented,=
my experiment with my tea controlling snails has been a total flop. In th=
e new experiment, the snails seem attracted to my tea. So now we have my d=
og drinking any spilled tea in competition with the snails who seem to like=
it.
Now this is interesting because when I put it in the cans with barriers, th=
e snails didn't show any preference for either side. They were found pretty=
much through the entire can tea or no tea. Here, they showed a marked pre=
ference.
However, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. If I can prove tha=
t my tea attracts snails, that is almost as good. I will try some differen=
t experiments and see what happens.
1. I will spray the plants surrounding the lily that the snails don't like =
with tea to see if I can get them to move over there.
2. I will get a potted plant the snails like and spray it with tea. If I c=
an get the snails onto that plant, It's easy to pick the plant up and move =
it away. I will do the same with a plant they don't really like.
3. I will try activating my compost with oat flour and bran flour then bre=
w tea and see if the snails are repelled by that. Maybe it's the added fun=
gi or whatever that grows from the flour/compost mix.
4. Because we have a lot of Euc, I will try to make a tea from fresh Euc (I=
will brew an extract not compost tea) and spray that on lettuce just like =
this 5-piece test to see what happens.
5. I understand that diadomatious earth (made from logn ago critters) repel=
s snails so I will try mixing that in some tea and trying the dip test agai=
n.
So, that's it for now.
Ted Peterson
EW/SOE
Received on Sun May 16 2004 - 16:44:38 EDT
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