Lemon tree with curled leaf
Ask Gardenerd: Curling Leaves on Lemon Tree
Tee wrote in to Ask Gardenerd this week with a common problem. "Why are the leaves on my lemon tree/bush curling inward?"
Ask Gardenerd: Green Worms on My Brassicas
We get questions like this one from Jody all the time: "Last year I ripped everything out of my garden, put fresh soil in and decided rather last minute to do an edible landscape. It was beyond anything I could have expected or hoped for, but what really was trouble was the white butterflies infesting/laying eggs/green worms in my cabbage, broccoli and kale.
Ask Gardenerd: Guinea Pig Poop?
Eric K. writes Ask Gardenerd this week about using guinea pig poop in the garden: "Can I use guinea pig poop as fertilizer for tomatoes? And since we have a never-ending supply, can I keep dumping it into the soil all summer long, or is there a point at which it's just too much?
Kale of all sorts grow under grow lights for 16 hours per day.
Spindly Seedlings under Grow Lights?
This week we received two questions about the same problem: spindly or stunted seedlings under grow lights. One gardenerd said her seedlings were still leggy, even though she situated the grow light 2-3" above the leaves. The other gardenerd said her seedlings were just not growing.
Ask Gardenerd: Corn is Falling Over
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??"
Rose
Ask Gardenerd: Caterpillars on my Roses
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…
Mittens is enjoying her cat grass.
Ask Gardenerd: Cats in my Garden
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…
Tree roots can be small like this.
Ask Gardenerd: Decreased Production in Planter Beds
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…
Lemon Cucumbers light up the garden. They taste like regular cucumbers but are more interesting to look at.
Ask Gardenerd: Saving Cucumber Seeds
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…
Ground cherries drop to the ground when ready to pick. Easy peasy.
Ask Gardenerd: Green Ground Cherries
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…