Every once in a while I get a question that I don't know the answer to. This week was one of those times:
"I am planting some yellow raspberries this spring. I am now able to harvest strawberries in the spring and blackberries in the summer. I selected the yellows so that I could have a fall harvest
of fruit. What do I need to know to encourage this to happen? What should I expect the first year?"
Cane berries can be fun - thorny, but ...
I'm surprised this question hasn't come in to Ask Gardenerd sooner, but it has finally arrived:
"I pulled out a bunch of mint that had gone awry. What should I do with it? Mint sauce? Dry it? How?"
There are plenty of things to do with mint, but even though that's true, I still find myself wondering what to do with an overabundance. Here are a few suggestions off the top:
Plant mint in a pot to keep it under control
...
We get a lot of pest control questions at Ask Gardenerd. Here's one now:
"Hey Christy, Love your blog - thanks for all the great tips and pics! I live in Culver City and a year ago I turned my whole back yard into a garden with raised beds. I'm loving it but
have noticed lately I have TONS of earwigs. I think they're eating all my veggies, and strawberries for that matter. Any tips on getting rid of them? Everything I read says to put out cardboard
so they will congregate ...
A new question dropped into the Ask Gardenerd inbox this week: "Lovin' [your] podcast since 2009! My soil test recommends 15-0-15 for potash deficiency. Organic sources would be....what?
A great question came in to Ask Gardenerd this week:
"I am looking to purchase a variety of grain seeds. Not bulk, not for production? Yet. My goal is start growing and saving seeds from planter pots, as my yard is xeriscaped and I am in the
process of trying to sell my home. This way once I move I should have seeds for planting a small scale grain garden for personal use. Where can I find open-pollinated grain seeds that are not
planting a whole flappin' acre at a time?"
...
A question came in this week to Ask Gardenerd:
"I was cycling in Silverlake and saw your garden you've setup for a greyish building! It looked great! I was especially intrigued by the interesting bean & tomato trellises you have. I
know this is technically "consulting", but where can I get my hands on some of those for my garden?"
You must mean the Dream Center Garden that I've been working on for over a year now. We
planted 24 tomatoes and nearly 100 peas in just ...
Oh, the trouble with bamboo... here's a question that came in this week on the subject: "I attended a class of yours a few years ago. Since then, we had…
A question came into Ask Gardenerd this week, which brought back memories of our sad summer last year:
"I have some kind of blight that returns to my tomatoes every year. One tomato that survived and re-sprouted after a severe cutting back was the first to develop it this year. I had to remove it
and trash the foliage. Do you have any idea what this is, and what I need to do to prevent it?"
Arg, blight. It's such a nuisance, isn't it? First off, you did ...
This week a question came in from a student at my Santa Monica College class:
"I am wondering what is the best time (or how do I know when) to pick an avocado [off a tree]. Thanks and I really learned a whole bunch in your class! Best, John"
Now I confess, I told John to send his question in to Ask Gardenerd because I didn't know the answer. We joke around here at Gardenerd that if I can't ...
A question came in last week from a concerned gardenerd:
"As we start to thaw (and possibly refreeze this coming weekend) out here in NE TX, I'm planning my garden for 2011. We will be starting seeds this weekend and a friend has offered us the use of
their greenhouse, as long as we share our harvest - no problem. My question as I start planning, and remembering last year, what can be done about Squash Bugs? I lost the battle last year, due to a
back injury that put me in ...