In article .com,
"Brooks in Boulder" wrote:

As for the slugs, have you tried natural/organic deterrents - like getting a
bunch of coffee grounds and spreading them in a thick perimeter around
your veggie beds, or water in the morning to keep the beds dry at night.

Tis the season!!

The coffee grounds, when I toss them usually go on my peaked looking
blueberries that I have planted next to a redwood stump. For a gastropod
deterrent, on going experimentation, I laid down straw as a mulch. That
has compacted and I've just tossed on some caoca nut shells or microbark
to give the mulch a crust. Fingers crossed. The article at
http://www.eap.mcgill.ca/MagRack/JPR/JPR_29.htm suggests traps (tiles of
wood on 1 inch legs) which can be harvested in the morning and also
serve as an indicator as to the severity of the infestation. Old news
but seemingly more elegant after years of dragging my old bones out for
late night raids on dining gastropods.

The water has been one of my bright spots. Everything is on drip. I go
get the paper in the morning and turn on the drip. An hour later, I turn
it off. There is some esthetic down side to having black plastic pipes
running all over the yard but Buddah it is simple. I do miss the
relaxation of watering by hand and when I can, I'll hose down the corn
or mist the lettuce patch in the morning.

Thanks again,
- Bill
coloribus gustibus non disputatum (subject to change without notice)