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 planter built in my yard out of railroad ties. There was a think fabric base placed underneath to block out weeds and bugs. As we prepared for spring planting this week, we discovered that bamboo has infiltrated everything. It grew under the fabric base and worked it's way through…
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 ...