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The Rural Voice, 2019-09, Page 55For the past two years I have been using a soft mulch and so enjoyed both the look and the benefit to the soil. The drawback on a summer like this one is that it can also harbor slugs. Nasty, wee creatures have been nibbling through the base of my hosta leaves and making a mess. I put two and a half cups of ammonia into a gallon jug, fill the remainder with water and pour over the crown. This is supposed to deter them and is also beneficial to the plant. So far it is working on some of them. So I would recommend keeping the mulch back from the crown of the hosta by seven or eight inches depending on the size of the plant. Avoid applying deep mulch around any of your plants as one or two inches will suffice. This traps the warmth in the soil and helps the plant avoid frost heaving. And this is how I rush through life, thinking about next spring and how things will look! Before I sign off I wanted to tell you about a lovely experience I had this summer. I was asked to be a tour guide for the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers who gathered in Kincardine for their Summer Tour. What a delightful bunch and all tree huggers! We visited both small and large operations and it is amazing what is going on in the woods around Huron. Some attendees were hobby syrup makers and some ran large multi-generational family operations over several woodlots. Being a tour guide presented a learning curve for me as I thought I just had to talk about what they saw along the routes between sugar shack stops. But buses move right along and as I spotted things they were gone. The real trick to being a tour guide is to simply talk about the area you live in, why you love it and why all of them should come back to take in more of Huron County. It was very rewarding meeting so many “sweet” people. I must say you only see your own community when you are showing visitors through it. We take living here in rural Ontario for granted and have to be gently reminded that it is an awesome place to live, raise our families and enjoy old age. ◊ September 2019 51 Gardening ATV & SxS RENTALS AVAILABLE 702 MAIN ST., SAUBLE BEACH (519) 422-ATVS (2887) sales.atvdepot@bellnet.ca $3,000 Enter to WIN a BNL 50 3-point Sprayer! Visit Booth #N-550 @ Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show! www.hardi-us.com#SprayHARDI MOUNT FOREST Maple Lane Farm Service 519-323-4289 WALTON McGavin Farm Equipment Ltd. 519-887-6365 Manufacturer of Precast Concrete Products Complete Infrastructure Supply • septic and holding tanks • sewer • watermain • concrete structures • hydrants and valves • hydro vaults • plow blades Division of J.A. Porter Holdings (Lucknow) Ltd. www.porters.ca Lucknow (head office) 519-528-3537 Owen Sound 519-372-1636 Stratford 519-271-5554 Lucknow location also offers • septic pumping • ready mix • aggregate and decorative stone