Collect 2 one-quart Mason jars with lids and pour 2 cups of warm water into one.
Add a packet of dry yeast, and 1 teaspoon each of salt and sugar.
Mix thoroughly and divide the odiferous concoction between the 2 jars.
Nuzzle each jar into soft garden soil at an angle so the lower lip of its opening is just at ground level.
Slugs smell the yeast, travel to its source, crawl in and drown.
Every 2 or 3 days, collect the slimy mess and either flush it or put a tight lid on the jar and place it in the garbage.
Place yeast-trap jars every 6 to 8 feet where populations are high.

~SASSY~

So, I started last year in late August. I first went around and removed the infected leaves when they appeared, then I'd mix a batch in my Indian tank, pump it up and spray it on. This Spring I began treatments when the leaves started to unfurl. I sprayed once a week, until I ran out of ingredients, LOL - last week of June. I just bought some more and did one application two weeks ago (we've had so much rain I haven't been able to spray since).

Well, I've seen decent results. Its not 100%, but its definitely something considering everything was infected last year. Of the big ones, GE, Jewel of the Nile, Mount Tom, Five O'Clock Somewhere, and Northern Exposure, only FOS has one leaf with the tell tale brown streaking. Of the small ones, Jellybean, Blue Cadet, Corkscrew, Candy Dish, Little Miss Magic, Heart and Soul, Hart's Tongue, LS Elfin Fire, etc., only Jelly bean has a few leaves with the brown streaking. Perhaps I'm jumping the gun and its too early to tell if that's everything, but I can't help being excited at the results so far.

I use the following homemade recipe:

6 quarts of water from outside hose in Indian tank
6 Tablespoons of Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Organic Liquid Soap.
6 Tablespoons of generic mint antiseptic mouth wash (I used mint flavored)

Pump this up and spray liberally on the leaves and let run down to the crown and saturate the soil.

Who knows, maybe my persistence will pay off. I'll report back every week from now and let you know if any others start showing signs.

Donna

Before you dig up the purple coneflowers, you may want to clip off 2
or 3 of the affected flower heads and send them to the Plant
Diagnostic Clinic at Iowa State. The aster yellows-like symptoms
could also be due to a tiny mite. The mite feeds inside the
developing flower head, causing it to become deformed. The mite is
so small that a microscope is needed to see it. If it turns out that
mites are responsible for the deformed flower heads, the plants don't
have to be destroyed. You simply clip off and destroy all of the
affected flower heads. Tips for submitting samples to the Clinic can
be found at the following web
site. http://www.plantpath.iastate.edu/pdc/node/217

If aster yellows is responsible for the deformed flowers, the plants
will need to be dug up and destroyed. Aster yellows is caused by a
tiny organism called a phytoplasma, similar to a bacterium. The
phytoplasma is carried from plant to plant by aster leafhoppers,
which feed on the sap of the plants. The phyoplasma does not exist
in the soil. Aster yellows resistant plants can be planted in area
as soon as the purple coneflowers are dug up and destroyed.

I would probably leave the Rudbeckias at this time. I'm not
convinced that they have aster yellows. I would wait and see how
they perform next year.

You visit a friend’s home and start pulling their weeds!

You offer your friends manure tea instead of iced tea!

You look at your compost pile and it makes you feel all warm inside!

Your idea of a hot date on a Saturday evening is in the garden hand pollinating plants!

You compost your old shovel to add Ironite to the soil!

You start packing "Weed-B-Gone" in your purse!

You run your fingers through your spouse’s hair and think it needs dethatching!

You replace your shampoo with Miracle-Gro, water thoroughly, and keep a record of the new growth!

You wake up in the middle of the night and make a note of which plant should be moved where!

You hear someone say "crap" and your first response is to grab a shovel and say "Where?"

Your kids cringe and hold their breath whenever they are in the car and you drive past a garden center!

You plan your family vacation destination around the nurseries you want to visit!

You go say hello to your garden before you go into the house after a vacation!

Your friends and neighbors all hide as soon as the first sign of a zucchini appears!

The ER doctor comes in with your X-rays and you ask him how badly the daisies were hurt when you fell into them!

(Source: Website "Garden Humour 20-20-20")

Don

I only have a couple of pictures to share (I was too distracted by the hostas to remember to take more pictures!):

Lady Isobel Barnett

Minnesota Nice

Here's the info I have:

Julayne Mayer, owner
429 Co Rd. 9 SE
Willmar, MN 56201
320.235.2361

email: julaynemayer@hotmail.com (She will send you a price list)