Garden Pests

Blossom End Rot in Tomatoes

Blossom end rot in tomatoes shows up a browning or blackening areas on the bottom of the fruit. It is more common than not on the first ripening tomatoes. Pepper and eggplant also get this condition, but to a lesser extent.

Blossom end rot in tomatoes
Blossom end rot in tomatoes

Often end rot is blamed on lack of calcium in the soil, however, it is very usual for our soils to be lacking in calcium. What happens is during rapid growth early in the first fruit stage plants are able to take up enough soil calcium.

The cause is mainly environmental due to uneven water in the soil, fertilizing too early in tomato growth, or wide soil temperature variations.

Solutions, apply a mulch to keep the soil moisture and temperature even. Make sure the soil drains by adding organic material or sand in clay soils. Early varieties are more susceptible than later varieties. Adding liquid soluble calcium at a certain time may help the plant to absorb more calcium and certainly will not hurt to add eggshells or Epsom salts, DO NOT add limestone to our alkaline soils. The calcium buildup will increase the pH of the soil, especially in clay soils.

Garden Pests

Leaf Miner Injury

This week I am hearing about leaf miner injury in various plants. You look at the leaf and see tunnels winding around between the tissues of the leaf. I have not seen heavy infestations that skeletonize the plant, however, they are unsightly.

Leaf miner injury on swiss chard
Leaf miner injury on swiss chard


Caused by a little black fly laying eggs on the leaf. The eggs hatch and the little larva burrow into the tissues of the leaf. The type of leaf miner is specific to the plant (they do not cross to other plants).


I have seen them on hollyhock, beets, bean, tomatoes, and columbines this year. Certain species also attack cottonwood, birch, pine trees, vine crops, peppers, and eggplant.

Leaf miner injury on columbines
Leaf miner injury on columbines


Since the larva is in the leaf, control is hard. For flowers (non-eatables) you can use a systemic insecticide. For the garden, it is best to pick off the damaged leaves and dispose of them. A newer way is to use neem oil which reduces the number of larva becoming adults.

Flowers (annual and perennial)

Cleome Plants

Cleome plants are not too popular anymore and I do not know why. They are hard to start indoors but come up readily in the garden if you allow the seeds to drop. Once the flower spike opens up, cleomes draw attention. They bloom all summer long on 3 to 4 foot high plants and are drought tolerant. As for pests, grasshoppers and deer hate them.

Purple flowered cleome

As I stated before, cleomes are hard to start indoors because of lighting, temperature, and needing bottom heat. Also, they are hard to transplant, so just plant the seeds in the flowerbed. Once germinated they grow fast. The hotter, the better.

Coming from South America and parts of the Southwestern U.S., the Navajo Indians tribes used this plant to eat and use various parts for herbal uses. The dark violet cleome was used for a dye for rugs and pottery. England adopted this plant for use in its Victorian gardens.

Cleomes in the flowerbed

They are also pollinator plants bringing bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds in the garden. Also called Rocky Mountain flower, spider flower, cat’s whiskers, and grandmother’s whiskers.