Slugs in the Garden

Recently, I've noticed some problems with my marigolds... all their leaves are getting eaten off! 

The reason I have marigolds in the first pace is to keep rabbits and critters out of the garden, and they've been doing their job well. But the poor little things are suffering attacks of another kind. 

They went from these lush-green fronds to these poor naked stalks...

Slugs.

And then the slugs proceed to cross my garden border and nibble on the spinach seedlings, as well. 

Well, this won't do.

I did some research on what deters them, and found some interesting methods. 

Last year, I didn't have marigolds, but I did have spinach. And the snails and slugs were merciless. I got the idea to sprinkle salt around the plants to kill their attackers. It must have worked, because the problem did go away. But the spinach was already pretty big by then, so it was kind of able to fend for itself, or at least not have a few nibbles make such a big difference. 

This time, however, they're still tiny and feeble.

When I googled the problem, I found that my salt method actually wasn't so original- people have been doing it with success. I also found that sand is supposed to be unpleasant for them to slither over, and pine needle mulch is like daggers. 

This morning I used about four pails of sand and mounded it up along the marigold perimeter. 

Then I sprinkled salt all around it. Half way through the process, I actually had slugs trying to cross the border I had established, and... ewww... I felt kind of bad. But hey, it works. 

I think probably the best method would be to give the sand a light salt-sprinkle in the evening before I go inside. The slugs are most active at night, so the deterrent will be fresh and should be quite effective. 

So, this is my new garden perimeter. Now hopefully everything can grow in peace and prosperity! 

And yes, we got our goats on Monday!! 

I am putting a post together about it; I just want to have some pictures of the milking process, too, before I post it. Here's a teaser picture, though....