It’s time for garden questions and answers. E-mail questions to
[email protected]. Or you can mail me questions in care of this
newspaper. For a faster, personal response, please include a
self-addressed, stamped envelope.
It’s time for garden questions and answers. E-mail questions to [email protected]. Or you can mail me questions in care of this newspaper. For a faster, personal response, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Q: I read your articles in the Free Lance and really enjoy getting the information that you are sharing with all of us. I have a problem with growing tomatoes. I have been mixing ground soil with some planting mix, and fertilizing regularly. I also use a wire climber to keep the tomatoes off the ground. The only decent ones I get are cherry tomatoes. I have even tried planting them in large pots. Could it be my garden soil or is something getting to the plants?
– M.G., Hollister, via e-mail
A: There’s an old saying among gardeners that goes something like this: If you have $20 to spend on your garden, spend $15 of it on garden soil and $5 on the plant itself. It certainly is true. I suspect most of your problems center around your garden soil.
Make sure to really amend your planting area by adding organic compost, peat moss, soil conditioner, planting mix, gypsum, etc., into the area.
You get the picture in that you can use almost any type of soil amendment to improve your ground. Make sure to dig the amendments as deeply as possible, or rototill them into your soil. With container plantings, use straight, 100-percent commercial potting soil, such as Miracle-Gro or Supersoil.
Do not mix in any or your regular garden soil into containers. With the right type of soil, I expect you’ll be growing some luscious tomatoes by the end of summer. Remember, it’s not too late for a crop later this summer. Just make sure to start with already-started transplants this time of year instead of seed.
Q: I am sending you some leaves from my diseased fuchsia. What can I do?
– H.C., Morgan Hill
A: That’s one thing about being a garden writer, I get the strangest mail sometimes! The blotches on the upper surface of your fuchsia are caused by a fungus called rust. The leaves also had “firing” on the edges, indicating a high concentration of salts in the soil. The rust can by sprayed with a commercial fungicide, such as Funginex by Ortho. There are many other brands on the market, just look for something that will control rust. The firing or burned edges of the leaves can be corrected by adding aluminum sulphate to the soil at a rate of half cup per 10 square feet and watering it in. There is also a liquid product on the market called Acid Fix. Burned edges on leaves are also very common with Japanese maples this time of year. It can sometimes be corrected with aluminum sulphate or Acid Fix. If your Japanese maple is in a container, you should also move it to a cool, shady spot where there isn’t any afternoon sun.
Q: My azaleas have long, gangly stems with leaves only at the ends. What should I do?
– M.N., Gilroy, via e-mail
A: Clip back leggy stems to force new, more compact growth. Azaleas respond well to pruning, usually right after they finish flowering. However, it is possible to do a little light pruning now.
