Garden
- How do I know when to cover tomatoes so the do not freeze?
- My garden is infested with what I believe are burrowing wolf spiders. I know that they are not dangerous, but there are a LOT of them and they scare me and keep me from getting my gardening done. Is there a safe way to get rid of them?
- Why are tomatoes turning black (dark) from the bottom up when they begin to ripen. They are also dark on the inside.
Home, Garden, and Yard
- A landscaping company planted 6 jaquemonti birch in my yard at the end of May. Two of them recently began developing darkish brown leaf spots in the center. They are getting plenty of water. On one of the leaves I found very tiny black insects. I did not find insects on any of the other leaves. What could the problem be and what should I do about it. I picked the infected leaves off that I could reach. I also collected the insects.
- About the end of July, some of my Hostas start turning yellow and eventually almost white. These get more sun that the rest. Is that the problem or do they need more fertilizer at some point.
- Can an olive tree survive in Utah?
- I discovered on my peach tree there is a white larvae that has burrowed into the base of the trunk and a sticky peach colored substance is there. The rest of the tree looks healthy, but I only have about five peaches that made it this year. This is the third year for this tree, and when it was only a year oldit produced 35 peaches. Also, there are these black bugs with red heads on the tree that I have never seen before. HELP! I really want to save this tree!
- I have a new laurel plant whose leaves have turned half brown. Is this caused by heat?
- I have a peach tree with lots of little branches that look burnt at the ends. The rest of the tree looks healthy, but the ends of the branches keep turning black and dying.
- I have a small backyard that has a house on the west and north side, a cinder block wall on the east side and a large tree shading a portion on the south side. Due to the high sides of our yard, we tried some part shade/part sun plants last year. But they got blasted in the heat. Our yard doesn't get 10 hours of sunlight but it gets very hot. Can I sucessfully grow a vegetable garden in part of it up against the houses and plant something along the cinder block wall - preferably grapes or raspberries, or other covering plants (can be non-fruit). Can you recommend a plant we can grow along the wall, both in the shaded and sunny parts? Any recomendations for better use of the space?
- I have a young (~3 year old) brown turkey fig. I planted it last fall and it survived! the winter. It is producing small figs now but the leaves have a brownish gray powdery looking substance on them. It doesn't rub off but looks like powdery spots. Any clue what it might be or what I should do? The leaves remain green and look healthy. This appeared after the recent heavy rains.
- I have an apricot tree in my backyard that is loaded with apricots. We have not sprayed the tree with anything, but I would like to use what I can of the fruit that is not 'buggy'. The apricots have red/brown spots on the skin, my research tells me it might be a fungus. Would the fruit be safe to eat if it was cooked and then canned? Also, I would like to transplant some of my fathers raspberry bushes, when is the best time to do that?
- I have an older crab apple tree that is focal point of my small yard. About 3 years ago the leaves became infected with powdery mildew. I have been told to not do anything with this, as it will eventually go away and the tree will fine - but over the years it has gotten much worse each spring. There are only about 60% of the leaves that are starting to look healthy by mid-June. Over all, the leaves are withered and this year we have very few blossoms. Another problem: The tree also has four large limbs that come out of the trunk. I noticed that there seemed to be wood pulp inside a place where a branch was cut off years ago. I scooped out the pulp and found that some bug or other creature has created a cavity that goes 6” into the 10-12” diameter limb and a large man’s fist could easily fit into the hole that has been created. While inspecting the hole I discovered a ¼” or so hole in the very back of the cavity, but no sign of the culprit. The limb seems to be doing fine, as the leaves on the branches from this limb are in no better or worse shape than the rest of the tree. I had my tree pruned by a highly recommended person this spring, in hopes that this would help with my powdery mildew problem. I love my tree, what should I do next about my perpetual powdery mildew problem and the unknown culprit who is dinning on my tree limb?
- I have beautiful hosta and fern plants growing outside. How do I protect them so they will survive the winter? Do I need to dig them up and bring them inside?
- I have black spots on my tomato plant leaves and some on the main stem. Will it kill the plant? Can I get rid of it? Will it apread to the soil or other plants? HELP. I see it in most of the greehouses I have been to. Is it to late to find someone with a place to find a clean tomato plant and still plant it and get fruit?
- I have much vinca minor (dwarf periwinkle) planted about 20 years ago as ground cover in my yard. Some is in full sun, some is in part sun/part shade. Some small areas of the vinca (3-4 feet in diameter) in several places in the yard have begun the most recent two Springs looking yellow/pale green, not deep green like the rest of the gardens. Neither have they flowered. A couple of the small yellow/pale green areas e thinned, and some of the plants died. The veins in the leaves of the unhealthy plants are green, but the leaves are yellow/pale green. They have remained thus all summer. They don't turn brown and dry and die. I have treated with fertilizer and snail bait, but neither has had any effect on the unhealthy looking plants. Are these plants deficient in some nutrient? Healthy plants I planted in the bare areas had a hard time establishing but did eventually and have not paled. What should I do? I don't want the problem to spread. The periwinkle has added a great texture to the yard.
- I have old cottonwoods in my yard. Vines are growing up about 5-6 feet on them (honeysuckle, ivy or virginia creeper) They are dying about on a year for the past 4 years and I lost another one this summer. Are the vines killing them or could it be the age of the trees?
- I have recently identified three large plants growing on a stream bed in my yard as water hemlock. From what I have read on-line, this is a very poisonous plant. Supposedly the stalks remain poisonous even when dead. My plants are quite bulky, and would fill at least a few garbage cans if cut down. Can you advise me on how to safely deal with these plants?
- I have several burning bushes and every year they start out great in the spring but later spring the leaves turn yellow, I have been adding iron to the soil around them and it seems to help a bit but it still happens every year. Could it be something else?
- I have some fruit trees in a lawn area that I have been fertilizing with ammonium sulfate, but needed to change to a weed & feed. Is the fruit still safe to eat?
- I have successfully grown summer squash for many years, but this year the newer leaves on the plants (sunburst hybrid) are wilting and dying, despite (or because of?) the cool wet June weather we are experiencing. The more mature leaves seem to be okay. I cut one of the leaves off at its base and didn't see any evidence of insect infestation in the stem or on the leaf. The base of the plant also appears to be free of insect infestation. Do you know what might be causing the problem, can it be treated, or do I need to pull up the plants, and if so, can I put new plants in the same location (the rest of the garden space is already filled)?
- I have two maple trees in my parking strip. I believe they are the Autumn Blaze variety. They have a light green to yellow small leaf. The leaves are starting to die as if it needs water. They are spotted and turning brown and brittle. The branches are still green when I scrape the them. I do not think it is under heat stress since June has been mostly wet. We spoke with someone who lives about a mile from us who had the same problem last year and now the top of his tree is dead. We did see two other trees in his neighborhood with the same problem. It looks as though next year we may have the same dead trees if we do not do something to prevent them from dying. Can you tell me what is wrong and what I can do to save the trees?
- I planted my vines mid may before the endless rains. Now many leaves are turning black in spots. Will this correct itself as things dry out and warm up?
- I want to limit growth of newly planted fruit trees and wonder if it would be possible to do that by making a large wooden box and planting each one in a box in the ground? Also if it would work to do that, do I need redwood? I have a stack of 4 x 12 x 16 douglas fir lumber which had been painted on one side and I wondered if I could use them to do this or will they create bug problems?
- I would like to plant some fruit and nut bearing trees to assist us with our food supply. Are there some trees better than others?
