Steven Duke writes into Ask Gardenerd this week: "I have an issue with corn being blown over. This year I want to plant okra around my corn to see if it can help with keeping the corn from being blown over as bad. Is this possible??"
A question from Bettina came in to Ask Gardenerd this week about green caterpillars on her roses: "My rose gets eaten by green caterpillar, I try to pick them off as well as I can but am wondering if there is something I can use that makes the moth stay away? The rose is in a large clay pot." Bettina, sorry to hear these pests are eating your roses. What you have is probably Sawfly larvae (which is technically not…
A great question came in from Michele this week about trouble with cats in the garden: "My next door neighbor has several cats and she insists on letting them run loose. One of them has been digging in my raised beds, destroying some young seedlings - and what's worse, defecating in them. Do you know of any non-toxic products that will keep him out??" Hi Michele, we are quite familiar with cat issues in the garden. We find cat poop…
Vidya writes in to Ask Gardenerd with a problem we've been dealing with for awhile: decreased production in raised beds. She writes, "For five years I have been growing flowers and vegetables in my garden. The first few years, I had amazing yields...Slowly, the plants became shorter and weaker, and this year, I barely had any fruit...I believe that we attracted all of the neighboring trees to send roots into our garden. After scouring the internet for solutions, I found…
Ann writes in to Ask Gardenerd this week: "Hi! Just came upon your site and LOVE it! A friend who lives up north from us just shared lemon cucumbers with us. We have never had them before and find them pretty neat. I haven't even tasted them yet. They told us how they save the seeds year to year for planting. Do you have any insight on saving the seeds? Would truly appreciate it. Lemon Cucumbers will definitely be part…
We received a question to Ask Gardenerd from Cheryl Dickson this week. She asks, "I have ground cherries that have fallen to the ground but a lot of them are still quite green. Should I leave the husk on them to ripen inside, or should I remove the husk to let them ripen? Thank you in advance for your answer!" Great question, Cheryl. As you may know, ground cherries drop to the ground when they are ripe. Occasionally they will…
This is the perfect Ask Gardenerd question for those with no room for a compost bin. It came from Nancy Ross: "I have been putting my scraps for compost directly into my raised beds. Is this OK? Will this reduce the need for plant food? Thanks!" Great question, Nancy. The short answer is, yes, you can do that. Let's explore the details. A lot of people who don't have room for a compost bin, or who don't have the energy…
The most timely question came in to Ask Gardenerd from Corinne today. She asks, "Do I need to roast my chili and jalapeno peppers before freezing them or can I freeze them whole and roast them as I use them?" Great question, Corinne. The answer depends on how you plan to use them later on. Freezing Peppers To Roast... If you plan to roast the peppers before using them, you should roast them before freezing. Then peel the skins off,…
Temperatures hit 116° F in some Southern California gardens this week, causing heat damage to many crops. This question from Mary is timely: "My tomatoes are getting heat stroke! I'm wondering if it's too late to save all of them. I've installed a 50% sunblock shade, and I've thrown out any that have bleached. I wish I had picked them before this insane weekend, but now I'm worried that any of them with dime-sized white spots are goners. This is…
Here's a question we see frequently when it comes to citrus trees: "Our orange tree has yellow leaves. What can we do? It is a dwarf tree. There are some oranges starting to grow. -- Janette" Thanks for asking, Janette. There are several reason why your orange tree might be turning yellow. Let's start with the most common reason. Too Much Water Most people water their citrus trees too often. Citrus trees, like most fruit trees, like deep but infrequent…