It’s garden question-and-answer time again. Remember, you may
e-mail me at [email protected]. Or you can still write me in care
of this newspaper. For a faster response, please include a
self-addressed, stamped envelope.
It’s garden question-and-answer time again. Remember, you may e-mail me at [email protected]. Or you can still write me in care of this newspaper. For a faster response, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Q: I’m wondering if you might know of an ant solution made of Borax? My elderly mother has been staying with me this month while some repair work is being done on her home. As luck would have it, just this week our home was invaded by ants! She seems to remember an ant repellent recipe using water, sugar and Borax. – A.C., Gilroy, via e-mail.
A: I don’t know if Borax is the same as boric acid, but the recipe I have in my files calls for boric acid powder, which you can find at most pharmacies. Mix four teaspoons of boric acid powder, three cups of water and one cup of granulated sugar into a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a slight boil, stirring to dissolve the solids.
Place the liquid ant poison in small, shallow containers where your ant problem is. Containers like caps from gallon milk jugs and bottle caps work great. Be aware, though, that this poison is harmful to children and pets if consumed in large amounts, according to the state poison control hotline. The poison works much in the same way that commercial products like Antrol do. The scout ants eat the concoction and carry it back to their nests. The boric acid forms crystals in their stomachs and the ants die from exploding stomachs. Because they carry the poison back to their nests, much of the colony can be killed this way.
The only drawback is that you have to put up with hundreds of ants for a few days as they think they’ve found heaven in the sugary solution. Ah, but just think of the satisfaction you’ll have knowing those ants will soon be in that big ant colony in the sky!
Q: We have a fig tree that is loaded with fruit, but the fruit is dry with a hole in the bottom. What caused the dry fruit? Could it be lack of water? – M.M., Morgan Hill, via e-mail.
A: You aren’t doing anything wrong. Fruit falloff means the tree isn’t getting the heat and growing season required. You need hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters, similar to a Mediterranean climate. Since none of us can control the weather, all you can do is wait and hope for more cooperative weather in the future. Fig trees are somewhat drought tolerant once established. Until then, though, they do best with regular deep water. This translates to deep watering during the spring and summer when fruit is forming. After that, withhold water in the fall to help the tree harden off in preparation for winter.
Q: An old-timer once told me you can cross a hot pepper with a tomato and make a hottomato. Was he pulling my leg? – W.C., Gilroy, via e-mail.
A: Yup. Did ya just fall off the turnip truck? Ha! Fact of the matter is, you’ll never be getting any hot peppermatoes since peppers and tomatoes are two distinct species. Although they are closely related botanically, they do not naturally cross-pollinate.
