One of your gardening pals

Okay, it doesn’t look like much, but the rosy wolf snail really is your friend. This rather attractive and large land snail is a predator of slugs and other snails. The moral to this tale is that if you let this Florida native take care of snails and slugs in your garden there is no need to use those pricey slug control products. And you won’t harm your gardening pals, the rosy wolf snails.

Considering compost

A compost pile is one way to recycle kitchen and yard wastes. Contact your county Extension office for information on starting your own compost pile. It’s easy and simple and the result is one of the best soil amendments to be found. The list of additions is long, but never add fat to the mix. Bones and shellfish shells should be buried in the pile to prevent animals from scavenging. Here are some things to add to a compost pile:

• Eggshells

• Coffee ground or tea bags

• Fruit and vegetable cores and peels

• Grass cuttings (provided no herbicides or pesticides have been used on lawns)

• Leaves and most weeds

• Crab, oyster and other shells

• Clean bones

A compost pile is a great way to recycle kitchen and yard wastes. Contact your county Extension office for information on starting your own compost pile. It’s easy and simple and the result is one of the best soil amendments to be found. The list of additions is long, but never add fat to the mix. Bones and shellfish shells should be buried in the pile to prevent animals from scavenging. Here are some things to add to your compost pile:

• Eggshells

• Coffee ground or tea bags

• Fruit and vegetable cores and peels

• Grass cuttings (provided no herbicides or pesticides have been used on lawns)

• Leaves and most weeds

• Crab, oyster and other shells

• Clean bones