In the garden this week some vine crops, especially cucumbers have been forming brown to black spots on the leaves. This is a fungus disease called anthracnose. Usually, the disease shows up after the plants have mainly produced their season’s…
In the garden this week: as it gets hotter, water your newly planted trees and shrubs more remembering they need more water than watering your lawn will give. For the first year or two most of the roots are contained…
Aphids are becoming a problem this week. If the plants (vegetables or flowers) are becoming deformed, look underneath the leaf and see if you have tiny green, black, or reddish “bugs”. If so, use Neem oil or insecticide soap to…
This week in the garden. There have been questions about why my vine crops like cucumbers and summer squash are blooming but not setting fruit. Vine crops have male and female flowers and only the female flower produces fruit after…
Where to look out for this week in the landscape: deadhead your spent flower heads, especially the ones in containers to keep them bushy and flowering. Fertilize every couple of weeks in those containers because of the limited root area.…
Last week there were a lot of questions about what is happening to my tomato leaves. To me, it seems that tomato diseases have become more prevalent due to warmer springs and longer dew times. One is an early blight…
If you are working in the garden this week, here are a few things to consider. Crabgrass is now germinating and growing. If you have a lot of this grass, use a post-emergent crabgrass killer as long as the plants…
Things happening this week in the landscape include the high number of moths flying around. There is not much you can do to eliminate them except for turning out any exterior lights and making sure there are no windows or…
This plant is popping up in gardens and people are wondering if it is a ground cherry. This weed is called deadly nightshade and has toxic berries. The berries are sweet; however, it does not take many to get sick.…
The hot weather is slowing down fruit production in the garden dramatically. My summer squash (which I planted a dozen hills) usually produces more than I certainly can use. The plants now produce maybe one fruit every few days, which…
All of us know what field bindweed is and this is the time of year it shows its white to pinkish flowers all over. I planted the garden on a field bindweed & thistle patch ten years ago and with…
Three “bugs” are showing up in gardens this week. One is the cabbage butterfly. It is a white butterfly with a couple of black spots on the wings. The butterfly is harmless; however, they lay eggs on cabbage, broccoli, and…
Two problems are happening in tomatoes right now. One is leaf spot diseases whether early blight or Septoria (both are caused by fungi). Things to incorporate in your routine are to stake or use tomato cages to keep the plants…
I keep telling people that crabgrass should be our state weed. I do not know when this weed has been so prevalent. With the hot, dry days the lawns are going dormant but this is the weather that crabgrass thrives…
With the spring rains and now the heat, many gardeners are having problems with perennial weeds in the flowerbed and garden like creeping Jenny (field bindweed) and thistles. The use of herbicides in the garden is not a choice, so…