Around the Yard

Things to do this week:

* Throw down bait. Immediately after a storm is a perfect time to scatter snail bait in the garden, either the poisonous kind--usually containing metaldehyde--or the nonpoisonous Sluggo--the only type to use around edibles like lettuce. Snails become more active as the weather warms and they prefer to travel over moist ground, so baiting right after a relatively warm spring rain is most effective. Baiting now will head off damage to spring’s flowers and tender transplants. Just make sure it has really stopped raining so your efforts will not be washed away.

* Pull weeds. Several days after a rain is the time to pull weeds. While hoeing works best on dry soil because disturbed weeds wither quickly, pulling weeds by hand works better on moist soil. When the soil is moist, weeds--top and roots--can be pulled out easily by hand, especially if the weed is still young (but not so small that you can’t grab hold of it). Keep an asparagus fork or other weeding tool in your back pocket for those weeds that resist.