It’s garden question-and-answers. E-mail questions to
ga*******@jp*.net or mail questions in care of this newspaper. For
a faster, personal response, please include a self-addressed,
stamped envelope.
It’s garden question-and-answers. E-mail questions to ga*******@jp*.net or mail questions in care of this newspaper. For a faster, personal response, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Q:
I’ll call your David Letterman story and raise you. I was in Malibu once and saw actor Gary Bussey and David Letterman pushing each other around in a shopping cart!
Now, onto my garden questions: Some birds deposited fig seeds. They’re doing well. Any possibility of fruit? Also, my olive trees got very little fruit. Am I doing something wrong?
– H.G., Hollister
A:
For those of you who missed my David Letterman encounter, I had seven seconds of fame this summer when I was filmed outside the “Late Show” in New York City getting sprayed by a sprinkler. Dave warned me over a loud speaker that I was going to get it and his audience roared as I got drenched. But I would have paid big bucks to see Dave and Gary Bussey pushing each other around in a shopping cart in Malibu.
As to answering those garden questions, fig trees will eventually fruit even if “volunteers” are started by seed-dropping birds. However, fig trees need to be at least 5 years old before fruiting occurs.
As for olive trees fruiting, most questions I get regarding olives are asking how to prevent the trees from setting the messy fruit. As for encouraging them to fruit, I don’t think you didn’t anything wrong. Sometimes, strange weather at inopportune times will disrupt fruiting.
I’m betting you’ll get a bumper crop of olives next season.
Q:
No question, but I just wanted to propose that you re-take your picture above your column. You should have Rocko and Maggie on each shoulder. Everybody loves weiner dogs!
– Hollister reader
A:
Thanks for the advice. If my fat weiner dogs could fit on each shoulder, I would do exactly what you say. Anyone who has dachshunds can attest to the fact that they love to eat and get fat like sausages! Anyway, this reader was talking about a recent column where I wrote about taking my two weiner dogs for walks around my neighborhood.
It’s on those walks that I get an up close and personal view at many home gardens. It helps me see what home gardeners are planting, neglecting, doing right, doing wrong, etc. Again, if you see me getting pulled along by two weiner dogs, don’t forget to say “hi!”
