Dilution, as mentioned above is "whatever is left in the coffee pot" so the dilution would be however you make your coffee. ;) And a definite no, it should NOT be sprayed on the leaves. I haven't seen that as tested or recommended anywhere in the many discussions on it. If it were to be used as a foliar spray it would have to be severely diluted in order to not harm the plants. It's generally recommended as a soil treatment only. This is for slug control - slugs are ground dwellers. Liquid coffee or used coffee grounds can be used in moderate amounts around most any plant except perhaps legumes as they don't tolerate extra nitrogen well. Dave

Your California slugs/snails might not survive the long periods of freezing weather in the cold areas of the country, like New England, or the upper Midwest, but they should have no problem with the relatively light frosts and shortish time frame that you will be getting. Snails just shut themselves up, deep in the mulch or grasses, and slugs burrow deeply. I wish it made a difference, as the very mixed winters (days in the 60's-70's and the next day/week, 30's-40's, nights from high 40's to mid-teens, with an occasional below 10) we have here in SC don't kill them all off, either. I do know that the ones I used to see in VT were a lot smaller than the ones in San Francisco or WA, so that might be one effect of freezing, the big ones get done in, but some will survive and grow, and eat.

Thanks guys.I actually first saw it on the You Tube video..the hanging hosta gardens. The recipe is to take a whole bulb,crush it and then boil it in a liter of water for about 5 minutes,strain it and then use 1 tablespoon for every liter of water.It's supposed to stay fresh in the fridge for 2 weeks. If it just repels them I want them gone.I did try a bit of the ammonia spray last year,(I am a newbie) and some earthworms came up and were not happy.I want to keep my earthworms so I think I will go with Nematodes again. Found a cheaper supplier from the UK. A neighbor has 3 cats that have been using my new bed as a litter box.I read that they don't like garlic so I think I will give it a go tommorrow. Supposed to be 20 C here and I have pips----Yippeee !

first .... i used wood chips from tree guys ... second .... NOT WHOLE LEAVES .... when i used to cover beds... i would, in suburbia.. take the leaves to the street.. and mow them until they were thumbnail size ... whole leaves make mats that literally stink as they go anaerobic ... swamp-like gooey stinky material .... anything that allows air and moisture to move both ways is helpful ... you can accomplish that through layers of differing material ... but in fall you seem to have lots of leaves.. and not tons of other things ... next spring... as soon as the soil thaws ... go check it out... and see where you need to go from there .... grass will be dead.. probably still there... you will have to pull back the mulch.... dig out grass... dig about a foot deep [ 6 inches more than you need for the hosta .... throw dead stuff in bottom upside down .... and plant hosta with removed soil .... and move mulch back to within a few inches of the hosta... do NOT cover ... if you wanted to till it.. you could.. lots of exercise.. if you need it .... anything else organic.... like AGED nure ... would be wonderful .... but even fresh nure.. will be aged by next spring ... JUST DO NOT USE ANYTHING THAT WILL CALL VERMIN TO YOUR GARDEN .... i know veggie scraps seems like a good idea .... but only if you want coons, rabbits, skunks.. whatever .... rooting around in there ... that is what a proper compost BIN is for ... if you need to get rid of a load of paper.. go for it.. .. good recycling... but i dont really see a need for it.. with the loads of leaves you are putting on ... leaves are from trees which are wood.. so frankly.. IMHO.. its redundant ... wouldnt you think ... but again ... a great way to get rid of a pile of old newsprint.. not glossy adverts ... leaves.. i would go up to a foot deep ... by late fall it will be 8 inches deep .. and by spring.. about 6 inches.. and nearly gone by next fall, when you get the next load of leaves ... in a year or three.. you will have wonderful soil ... and wonder why you spent decides burning the leaves.. or sending them to the curb ... EVEN IF YOU ADD NOTHING .... you will be very happy with the soil in spring ... the freeze thaw alone will make it a pleasure to work in .. and you can always order some wood chips in late spring to cover it all up ... i think i covered it all .. anything else?? ken PS: dont tell anyone.. i used to steal bags of leaves from the neighbors.. lol ... the only problem was the volume of sticks in some bags ... free is free ... add a healthy does of labor... and you are all set ... a couple neighbors were happy to remove the sticks.. and get them to the curb for me.. and then i promised to make them disappear ASAP .... the whole leave process HAS to be timed to work with dry leaves ... to avoid gooey clumps of problems .... and to beat the city from sucking them all up ...