There's a bug that'll eat anything...Earwigs.Make sure you use bug,slug,and snail bait after you plant anything.These pests can sense when things are planted and will congregate
at our newly planted ornamentals.Fertilize well and you should have excellent results.

A little beer in a dish can help with slug issues. Little suckers crawn in and drown. :)

We've had unusually cool weather here in Iowa and I notice the annuals are mostly affected by this - slower growth, spindly plants, and tons of bugs. I try to attract beneficials. I used to use the most toxic insecticides but have learned that beneficials are better to start with. I've never had earwigs (knock on wood) that I know of, so I don't know how to deal with them. I usually have more issues with deer and rabbits! I've had good luck with a lower nitrogen fertlizer, something like 5-10-10 or even 0-10-10 to get things blooming.

farmingvillefarmer, I've already gone through a 40 pound bag of diomataceous earth to try and control slugs. I switched from powder to pelletized so it doesn't disappear after rain.

It just hasn't had a chance to dry out enough for past month or two.

Even without rain we have slug problem. It's horrible and disgusting.

They made it up to a tray of seedlings I have on a raised deck. I yelled when I lifted the tray to water 5" pots when I saw slugs...not just little ones but up to 1-1 1/2 inch size. Yuck!

Foliage of most things has been pounded into ground from heavy rains. Slugs come out of nowhere. They eventually dies after crawling through diomataceous earth but you go through a lot of DE with rain.

Slugs were on foliage and then deer/rabbits/groundhogs came behind them and ate blooms on too many things.

One of those less favorable Spring starts.

I get "happy" when I see some blooms that started on few non-rainy days. They're lying over or on the ground now but they still make me happy.

I've also got too many seedlings in sowng containers languishing from all the rain. Can't plant with ground soaked the way it is.

I found out last year that Marigolds are delectable to some animal. Deer, rabbit or groundhog...take your pick. The old saw that recommends using them as border to deter critters/pests didn't turn out to be true for me. Only Marigolds I can keep are ones I put on my father's deck with a chicken wire (so attractive) barrier so groundhog doesn't scamper up steps to eat things.

Suspect things will remain stalled until it dries out and sun makes more regular return appearance.

If you plant anything in containers make sure to put window screen in bottom before potting mix to try to keep out slugs or they'll get in through drainage holes and feast on roots. I glue screen down with "Gorilla Glue" to make it a bit tighter. They still slither up sides of containers but you can only do so much. throw salt on those climbers in the morning. "Lovely" green chicken fencing goes around containers of things like Zinnia so they don't get eaten by animals.

Some have to fight for every seedling they plant but most people have some kind of pest to fight.

Good luck and hold on til we get some helpful weather.

Marigolds and calendula do repel some bugs. but they are not invincible to slugs or snails. Marigolds will attract slugs they will be eaten by them first, so they can be a sacrificial plant to keep them off your other plants. Both are fast growers so you can scatter seeds around. These can be saved seed too.