Or so I believe. Either that or I must be daydreaming. Anyway.... hello everyone! Very excited and pleased to become part of this gardening society. I live in New York City and have a patio. There, I have new plants, winter small shrubs and miniature pine, plum tree and korean pear tree in planters... I also keep plenty of herbs like Coriander, lavender, rosemary, santolina, moroccan mint, sage, tarragon, etc. Lately, I have found in some of the herbs' pots and also in some of the tree's bigger planters holes in the soil that are probably 1inch in diameter but no deeper than 2.5 inches. What is it- a slug, a worm? What will happen and how can I prevent it? I have seen trails and also a slug on the cement floor not long ago and got rid of it and haven't seen any more since. I also saw a small thin brown worm in one of the herb pots. But was fast to disappear and I felt that fishing for it was not going to be the solution. The holes felt to me as if the soil was being eaten because once I put some of the soil that had been pushed aside by the creature, there wasn't nearly as much of it to go back inside. I also used fresh organic compost to replant my herbs not long ago and these creatures might have found some nice stuff to eat. I would appreciate your help so much as I love plants and this garden, and the herbs are something I include in teas for my friends and I. Thank you! Hope I can bring some help with my experience in the near future. Paula
Hi Paula--that really is mysterious, and I'm only going to make a guess from my experiences on the opposite coast from you. Sometimes small holes in the soil like this are made by some variety of bee or wasp that nest and also overwinter in these burrows. I would be a bit surprised if they are actively burrowing at this time of year, but then I know very little about these little guys! They would not be harmful at all, if that is what the "culprit" turns out to be... http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/miningbees.html
Hi!! Thank you very much for your reply. I will definitely take this knowledge and watch for anything like a wasp, since actually I do have a lot of different flying insects going around. A friend who lives here and had some plants outside told me also that sometimes New York squirrels will come and dig little holes to hide their food (or maybe looking for some?). So that is a piece of info for you too! Thank you again. I will be standing by. Paula
