Q.

I have two CUCUMBER PLANTS that have been doing well until the last week. They have been climbing up the trellis I put up for them. Then, in the last five days or so, they have been turning light colored from the deep green they were earlier.

Some leaves are laced with holes and others are turning light brown and dying on the vine. At this rate there will be no cucumbers this year. Do you think this is a disease or insect infestation? Is there any thing I can do to save the plants?

A.

This sounds like cucumber beetle, a major pest in Illinois. Some over winter in the state and attack the crop early, some go south and return early summer and attack as now. The eggs are laid at the base of the plant and the hatching grubs eat the roots, after pupating the adult beetle attacks the plant.

They also carry mosaic virus, which often kills the plant. You can spray against the beetle, but it sounds a bit late. They are a small striped shiny beetle; you can try picking any off the plants by hand.

Q.

For the first time I have grown PUMKINS in my garden. Excuse me for bragging, but I have a nice crop. When do I harvest them?

A.

September is harvest time; the pumpkin is ripe when it is difficult to penetrate the flesh with the thumbnail. After harvesting, dry in a ventilated but rainproof area for two weeks, to cure. Then store in a frost-free area, if you wish to save for any length of time.

Q.

Could you please explain the blossom issue as it relates to male and female blossoms of ZUCCHINI squash?

A.

The female flowers have a tiny fruit at the base of the flower, the male flower does not.



Question
Could you please tell me what will happen if you plant a red potato & a white potato in the same hole? I did this yesterday as I was running out of room, so if you would please let me know ASAP I could still dig them back up before they take root. Thanks

Answer
You will have red potatoes and white potatoes as normal from each parent plant. They can only cross-fertilise though the flowers. After flowering, the potato produces a small tomato like fruit, the seeds from which could produce a cross between the two varieties.

Question
MY mother has burned leaves for 15 years in a spot where she wants me to plant a vegetable garden. Would that be a bad idea?
Thanks Lonnie

Answer
You will need to spread a large amount of garden lime on the area to neutralise the soil, use a high nitrogen fertiliser. If possible, large amounts of farmyard manure, horse manure, or other such, should be incorporated into the soil. Otherwise it should be possible to grow veg on the area, but don't expect too much for the first couple of years.

Question
Hi I have cucumber and tomato seedlings in trays in a well lit but cool bedroom. The stems are growing too fast and I am afraid they will be too weak. How can I strengthen the stalks?

Answer
The plants need to be pricked out (i.e. transplanted) into seed trays or separate small containers, and spread out in order to give room for horizontal leaf growth. Also light levels should be higher and not just from above.

The compost should be treated with Cheshunt Compound (widely available at garden outlets) before transplanting takes place. Cheshunt Compound kills off fungal diseases and other infections in the soil/compost. Theses soil borne diseases can cause the seedlings to damp off, (i.e. rot off) at ground level.

Q.    
We live in Michigan in the Detroit area. We would like information on growing Tomatoes in pots or tubs. What kind, when to plant and how to care for.
Thanks. H and W

A.    
There are many varieties of tomato now available for growing in tubs; they are usually grouped under the label Patio Tomatoes. These are dwarf bush or trailing. You can grow the full size tomato in a tub but you need a firm support for the canes, a sunny wall for example.

Tomatoes need plenty of water and plenty of feed, use a specialist tomato fertiliser, use fresh compost to avoid disease problems. Do not leave out at night until the danger of frost has passed. Water on a regular basis, irregular watering will cause the fruit too split.

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Q.    
We just recently acquired a garden plot that already had an ASPARAGUS bed and rhubarb patch on it. The asparagus bed was badly overgrown with grass and weeds, which we thinned out five days ago. We gently prodded the soil a bit being careful with regard to any shoots that might be sprouting up or the roots as well. Then we watered the bed really well and left it over the weekend.

Today (Wed.) we went back to our plot and noticed that quite a few asparagus have popped up through the soil, however, the weeds grew back as well. In researching a few library books I found the weed that appears to be just what we have in our asparagus bed, the "couch weed". We would like to rid the bed of this weed and also make the bed healthier. Do you have any advice for us? It would be greatly appreciated.

My thought was possibly mulching with a light dusting of hay over the bed and around the stalks of asparagus that are now shooting up. Will this prevent them from growing or poking through the soil? Also is there any weed killer that we could use that won't harm the asparagus itself? Many thanks for any information you might be able to provide us with.
Sincerely, Suzie and Ken.

A.    
There are sprays for couch grass, they act on the root, or rhizome to give it its correct name, unfortunately the spray will also attack the asparagus roots. The best plan is to dig up the asparagus in the fall (autumn), prepare a new bed free of couch grass roots and plant again. There are many, contact only, sprays available to kill broad leaf weeds; these are applied just before the emergence of the asparagus spears
Valecroft Nurseries.



Question
My mom's tomato plants turn yellow. Lack of Nitrogen is probably the cause, from watering wrong. Can't get her to change the way she waters. Can you recommend a fertilizer that will help? Bob

Answer
Tomato plants turn yellow.
This is more likely to be tobacco mosaic virus; TMV. This stays in the soil from year to year and you must always plant your tomatoes in fresh soil. If it were to be nitrogen shortage, this could be caused by trace element deficiency. A handful of Epsom salts will correct trace element deficiencies and enable the plant to absorb the nitrogen.

Question
I want to grow bell peppers this year, in my area all growers planted their seed about 30-40 days ago but I want to plant my seed now, if I plant my seed in a greenhouse with heater and fluorescent light, how many days will I be different with other growers to harvest. If there is any difference, how many hours of light each day is best and what type of fluorescent will I need?
With best regards, Farhad.

Answer
It is probably too late to start seeds under lights. I would advise you to buy part grown plants from your local garden outlet. These will be of the right age. Go to the young plants section. Also sold as plug plants.

Q.     Sirs: I have prepared an asparagus bed properly according to my organic book instructions. I intended to plant three year old crowns. Can't seem to find them either on the inet or standard seed catalogs. Several net sites recommend planting one year crowns as opposed to two or three year crowns. But, no explanation as to why. So... what is the advantage of one year asparagus crowns vs. three year old crowns. Thank you for your help and advice. Don

A.     A younger asparagus plant will establish itself better than an older plant, due to the fact that an older plant has a higher water requirement, which puts a bigger strain on the unestablished roots. Whatever age plants you plant, you must wait two years before taking a very light first harvest.

Q.     I live in upstate New York - I believe its zone 5. I've been told that I should start my pepper seeds indoors in late January if they are to be ready by May. What is your advice?

A.     You can sow pepper plant seeds at the end of January; you will need a temperature of 60 to 70 F. You will also need lighting to simulate an April day length. If you plant outside before the danger of frost has passed you will need overnight protection. Seedlings of peppers sown this early tend to damp off, i.e. rot off at the base of the stems. Commercial products are available to treat this condition. Worth a try, but not guaranteed to be a success.

Question.
    After using old fish netting and other items for climbing peas and beans I would like to use galvanized chicken wire (will last longer) but I am concerned that the zinc will be a deterrent to the young plants. Is this a problem?

Answer.
    A lot of gardeners use chicken wire without problem. The only snag is clearing the vegetation out of the wire at the end of the season.

Q.
    Hi Rose here. I was wondering if you could tell me when to dig potatoes up. I live in southern Alabama. Right now the potatoes bushes are growing & doing real well. But I have never grown them before & do not know when to dig them up.

Also, is it possible to dig a hole in the ground & put them there & cover them with hay to keep them thru the winter?

A.
    GROWING POTATOES. If you have sown early potatoes, you dig them up immediately after flowering to eat straight away. However they will not be mature, will not be a big crop and will not keep. If you have sown main crop potatoes, you dig them up in October when all the tops have died down. You do not have the maximum crop until the foliage has fed the tubers by dying back and the potato has fully matured.

You can store the potatoes in a hole in the ground covered by hay, but you must also cover the hay with about a 1-foot thick layer of soil. Dig a trench around the mound of potatoes to get your covering dirt; this trench should be slightly deeper than the potatoes, in order to drain off any water to stop the potatoes rotting. You can also store the potatoes in wooden boxes in a dark, cool, but frost-free area in the house.

There are three distinct types of potato. Early, middle early and late; each group again split into various varieties. Very complex, basically the earlies are harvested and eaten in late May-June, the middle earlies are harvested and eaten in July-August, and lates harvested in September-October, for winter storage. All are planted March-April.

If you bought your potato seed from a garden or agricultural outlet, the pack would have been marked with a Department of Agriculture label stating variety and time of harvesting. All seed potatoes being subject to government disease control regulations.

Question
Hi,
My grandparents have a vegetable garden in their backyard, which has always grown some very nice vegetables. In the last two seasons, the tomato plants have died before ripening. Could this be something that's gone wrong with the soil? And what can be done to rectify it?

Answer
The soil could be too acid, give a generous application of garden lime to bring up the ph value to a more alkaline state. Then feeding with a high potash fertiliser will correct any deficiencies in the chemical balance of the plot. Also feed with Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) to release trace elements in the soil.

However if only the tomato plants are dying, they could be suffering from tobacco mosaic virus; TMV. This stays in the soil from year to year and you must always plant your tomatoes in fresh soil.

Question
Hi My husband has a question he hopes you may be able to answer. We don't have a website like this in Australia.... or we haven't found one yet! He grew some carrots and some parsnips in the garden, but both veggies were stunted i.e. their roots didn't go down very far. They tasted fine, but they could have been a lot longer.

The parsnips were no more than 2 inches long, but normal size across. He waters regularly, and fertilizes... he grows other veggies just fine, e.g. leeks, green onions, red onions, corn, cucumbers, pumpkin.
Thanks again, Paline

Answer
When farmers started to harvest carrots and parsnips by machine, the machines were cutting off the bottoms of the roots. So growers asked seed companies to come up with carrots and parsnips that did not grow so deep. The seed growers obliged and came up with stump-rooted varieties, which your husband is now probably growing.

The old long rooted varieties are still available, I don't know what varieties are available in Australia, but over here; "James Scarlet Intermediate" and "St Valery" are two good pointed varieties. "Hollow Crown" is a good long parsnip.

Question
We have planted a garden at our home in Louisville KY for the second year in a row. We have a variety of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Although the plants are growing extremely well, the pepper plants are getting eaten alive.... we see holes in the leaves...and the stems are turning black.... my questions are:
(1) is this a disease or bug (2) suggestions for a remedy (3) will these plants produce peppers or should we start over?
Thanks, Tam and Glen

Answer
This could be one of three common pests. Flea beetle, a small fast moving beetle that likes to eat young plants. A very small green moth caterpillar, which hides in the leaf membrane, or most likely a small white snail, which hides underground during the day. You can spray against flea beetle and caterpillars; use slug bait against the snails. If the plants are badly eaten it will take a while for them to recover, and the peppers may not have time to mature.

If you were to plant over again, go for a variety that needs a shorter growing season.

Q.
    I planted around 10 yellow squash plants. When the squash is about 2 inches long, they look good. By the time they get 5 inches long, they get all knobbly and weird looking. When I cut one open it is hollow. What is wrong with them? I live in Texas City-north of Galveston. Some say it could be a fungus. If it is, then what can I do to help solve the problem?

A.
    This sounds like very poor pollination and only a few seeds, instead of hundreds, have been produced in each fruit. Have you had a cold wet spell at flowering time, keeping the insects inactive? Try hand pollinating next year with a soft feather.

Question.
    Hi,
I have cucumbers growing in containers on my patio (Bonnie plants - the variety is not listed on the tag.) They are watered by a drip system, fertilized with sustained release fertilizer pellets (Osmocoat) and the foliage is growing nicely. I have had 1 full sized cucumber produced (it was delicious), but all the other fruit is only approximately 2-3 cm in length. Some of these fruits are black and dead. I don't know what would cause this and why the cucumbers aren't growing in size at all. Can you help?
Thanks, Liz

Answer.
    Your cucumbers could be suffering from attack by red spider mite, common at this time of year if conditions are dry. These are very difficult too control, but keeping the leaves damp with slightly tepid water helps to deter them. There are systemic sprays available, which are absorbed by the plant, but if you are eating the fruit this is not advisable.
A systemic insecticide is absorbed by the plant and kills the insects as they feed off the plant.

Question.
    Please help. Insects have invaded my Kale, what can you recommend to destroy these insects?
Thank you. Linda

Answer.
    If your plants are heavily infested you could wash down your kale with a very weak mixture of washing up liquid. This will wash many of them away. Then spray with a systemic insecticide. A systemic insecticide is absorbed by the plant and kills the insects as they feed off the plant.

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