Some organic matter, when it gets very dry, becomes hydrophobic, i.e. hard to re-wet. Peat moss is notorious for this.

For pots you can set them in a dish or bucket with water part way up the side. Watch out you don't float the whole thing out of the pot with too much water, if it's very dry and lightweight. Let it sit a few hours or overnight.

For garden beds you can break up the surface and spray with water as you go. A mulch over the top will help absorb water and wick it into the soil more slowly so it doesn't run off.

Once you get something like this re-wetted, try not to let it get that dry again. :-]

Thanks for the little soil tutorial. I grew up in the tropics where you just went out and stuck things in the earth and they grew. Now I know what's happening. The front bed is hard to keep moist because it is under the overhang of the roof, and in full sun. That way it is always a little dry in the spring. I tend not to mulch because we have lots of slugs and it seems to attract them. Thanks again.

Control of Slugs-

Dry hot pepper flakes (like used on pizza) in problem areas.
Diatomaceous earth for economy.
Citrus oil spray works well (d-limonene).
Coffee grounds sprinkled on top helps.
Cedar mulches are good.

(Encourage ground beetles, rove beetles, centipedes,, snakes, frogs, toads, lizards, birds, and carnivorous.beetles-- by avoiding pesticides.)

M

It would seem that not using mulch would be more problematic, than simple steps to control the slugs. I suppose it could depend on which mulch you are using. I was under the impression that mulch encourages ground beetles and rove beetles, which are slug predators.

M

Thanks for the slug control tips, Makel. The reason I have lots of slugs is because I have two large wood piles in the backyard, and I am practically gardening among the logs. I see them coming out at night. I have used DA and coffee grounds from time to time. To control them, I do a nightly 'slug-patrol' and pick them off or spray them with a dilute solution of household ammonia. I do not use pesticides and try to keep my soil as organic as possible. I do have a couple of frogs, and many centipedes, and many birds, but I am providing a haven for the slugs (in fact my husband is). Thankfully, the logs are rotting and I am bagging up the crumbled material produced. I have a couple of raised beds and they hide between those boards and the soil as well. They are relentless. Like everything, this too will pass, because the logs will be gone. I certainly hope soon.

The potting soil you tried to wet is made of either peat moss, coir or bark fines and these are very hard to wet. Most every site I have seen suggests that these materials be soaked for a minimum of 24 hours in hot water to get them wet before attempting to plant in them and that is borne out by my experience.
Slugs like a cool, moist environment, such as a log pile, or under a rock, or any other place that meets that criteria. To keep the predators of slugs around you will need to have a population of them, always. I have not found Diamotaceous Earth to be of much value in controlling them, about as good as egg shells which the slugs seem to be able to crawl over with little adverse affect. However
I have found that spraying cold caffeinated coffee on plants is an effective deterrent.

Kimmsr,

I agree with you that only coffee (and picking) can deterr slugs and snails.
I have a huge snails problem, with billions of very little white snails invading my garden, destroying everything.
I planted artichokes and zucchinis and squash in the middle of a coffee circle to protect them, but I can't really follow their growth and add more coffee.

Would you advice to spray coffee directly on the plants ?

I'm sorry if I'm polluting a thread that is not about snails. I can start a new one if you want me to, it's no bother.

Thanks !

Thanks for the heads-up about the coffee and slugs, Kim. I do not really lose any produce using my slug patrol, and strangely enough they don't bother my stand of Hostas on the other side of the garden...maybe too long a walk. With the slug-patrol, I get to them on the way to the plants, or on the plants before they do any real damage. I would have to do a really big spray job because I grow lots of peppers, tomatoes, lettuce and greens, eggplants, cukes and squashes, and that's a lot of spraying and lots of coffee, and I am not a coffee drinker. What I do have problems with is direct-seeded beans. They eat off the shoot before the plant can get established and I always have to replant some or all of them. So how do I use the coffee in this case? What about coffee grounds? I have access to them from the Starbucks in the village. Perhaps mix them into the soil?

Francoise, do you mean you actually put coffee in the earth around your artichokes and zucchini? I am not a coffee drinker nor do I care for the smell of it, so buying it for that purpose does not appeal to me. Sorry I don't have a snail problem so I can't help.

I'll wait for your reply, Kim, and I'll pick up some grounds or reserve them tonight while Im shopping.