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…
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.…
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 have received many questions about tomato leaves curling. The most common reason for this during this time of the year is environmental. It even has its own name: physiological leaf roll. The plant is growing rapidly and the roots…
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…
Who is eating these tunnels in my carrots? They all called the carrot weevil. The adult in a tiny brown bug with a snout laying eggs on the crown of the carrot. The little white worms burrow down on the…
What is that big bunches of webs in my trees? It is fall webworms hatching from eggs and spinning a protection web over the colony. While unsightly, they do not cause much harm this time of the year as the…
Why do melons and tomatoes seem to crack when the fruit gets ripe? The cause is inconsistent soil water and heat. Do not let the soil dry completely then water. The surge of water in the fruit will expand causing…
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…
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…