FAQ: Tomatoes aren’t flowering, why?
- On October 06, 2009
- By Meleah
- In FAQ
- 0
Q: I’ve got tomato plants with a lot of leaves but very few flowers and tomatoes. Why is that?
A: If otherwise healthy tomato plants aren’t flowering, it’s probably because they’ve been overdosed on nitrogen. Rather than using a balanced fertilizer, which you can recognize because ratios for all three nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, will be the same as in 10-10-10, switch to one with a lower first number. Five is probably good. Or you can just amend your soil well with composted matter like compost and then continue to top off your tomatoes with compost all season. In the meantime, though, you’ll need to wait until the excess nitrogen gets used up, which won’t take long in a container. Heavy rains will move the process along faster.
FAQ: Removing stakes from trees
- On August 12, 2009
- By Meleah
- In FAQ
- 0
Q: When should I remove the stakes from newly planted trees?
A: This question comes up a lot and, no wonder. There is a lot of debate on this subject. Some experts say young trees should be staked for their first year. Others say no, arguing that staking keeps trees from developing the strong root system they need by not allowing them to move freely in the wind. I come down somewhere in the middle of this debate. If a young tree seems fine without staked, don’t use them. But if you buy a tree that’s really tall for its root ball (as I did this spring, a bare root nannyberry), I would use stakes to support it until you feel it can stand alone safely — no more than one year. I would also recommend staking if you’re planting in a sandy area.
FAQ: When is the best time to plant trees?
- On July 27, 2009
- By Meleah
- In FAQ
- 0
Q: Is it true that it’s best to plant trees in the fall?
A: That is true for most trees. The soil is already warm by that time and once the tree loses its leaves the new root system will not have to work so hard to provide nutrients for them as it gets used to its new home. There are a few trees, though, that should be planted in the spring because they just seem to struggle more when they’re planted in the fall and the reasons for this don’t seem to be fully understood. Those trees are: hawthorn, magnolia, birch and many oaks.
FAQ: Powdery mildew
- On July 25, 2009
- By Meleah
- In FAQ
- 0
Q: Every year my phlox and bee balm get powdery mildew. Is there anything I can do to prevent that?
A: Powdery mildew really is an ugly thing. If you’re not familiar with the term, powdery mildew is a fungal disease that makes a plant’s leaves look as if they’re coated with dusty, white powder. Some plants, like phlox, bee balm, zinnias and roses are more susceptible to it that other plants, so one thing you can do to avoid it is look for varieties that have been bred to be more resistant to the disease. Keep powdery mildew at bay, at least for the most part, by providing susceptible plants with full sun and good air circulation. Try to avoid getting the leaves of these plants wet whenever possible. There are fungicides you can buy to control the disease, but use these with caution because they may do more harm in your garden than good. As a last resort, you may just want to rip the mildewy plants out and get something else.
FAQ: Determinate or indeterminate tomatoes
- On May 06, 2009
- By Meleah
- In FAQ
- 0
Q: What’s the difference between “determinate” and “indeterminate” tomatoes?
A: Good question. When you buy tomatoes, you’ll notice that most labels offer one of these terms. Determinate varieties or “bush” tomatoes grow to about four feet with fruit setting on the top bud and ripening about the same time. For this reason, you don’t need to go to great lengths to cage these guys, and you don’t want to do a lot of pruning or you’ll wind up losing a lot of your crop. Indeterminate tomatoes are considered vining tomatoes because they can grow more than six feet in a season and will produce fruit right up until the cold kills them off. For these, you need to provide ample cages and/or stakes.
FAQ: Relationship between ants and peonies
- On April 11, 2008
- By Meleah
- In Bugs, FAQ, Perennials
- 0
Q: Is it true that ants play a role in helping peonies bloom? It doesn’t seem true to me, but people always talk about how they’re needed to make the buds open. What do you think?
A: You’re right; it isn’t true. Ants don’t just go around kindly doing good deeds like helping flowers open. In this case, what’s in it for them is tasty nectar in the structure that covers the buds though they do help the buds, too, by keeping pests that might harm the blooms away.