Question from Robin:

Answer from Pat:
Corn Gluten Meal works well as an organic product to use as a pre-emergent weed killer for use on lawns. Now several companies are making it. All of them work equally well as far as I can tell. They are widely available at nurseries and farm supply stores, especially nurseries that carry organic products. This usually cuts out the big box stores. Look in fine nurseries. Or simply Google the product and find a mail order source. But I have found this product in a bright yellow bag, with or without organic fertilizer added, in several local nurseries, including a well-known chain nursery only a mile or two from my house. Look among the products for lawns. I think the message here is when you have a generic product that can be copyrighted but not patented, sound alikes are fine. All these companies are using the same technology, and my experience is that if you follow the directions properly, it works.

Related posts:

1. Shrimp Shell Meal
2. Vegetables in Raised Beds: Problems with Yellow Leaves
3. Corn

Question from Jeff:

Answer from Pat:
I am delighted to hear that you read my brief history of the poinsettia in California and you are absolutely right the kind you purchase for Christmas do not grow well outdoors. The old varieties were a total joy here and it’s sad they are so seldom found. There are even better ones than ‘Hollywood’. I suggest you ask at botanical gardens for this plant. The best way to start one is from a cutting taken in spring. I got a cutting last year but it was given to me by a garden club in January and this was the wrong time of year to plant it, not warm enough. Besides, it was already too dried out when I got it. So it doesn’t appear to be growing. If I find a source of these outdoor varieties of poinsettias I will let you know. I have heard that there are several fine poinsettia trees growing outdoors in Encinitas and that the owners are happy to give cuttings in spring but I have not yet found them. If you ever see one of these  plants growing in an old neighborhood, ask for a cutting in spring and go back and get it then. Any time between March and May is a good time to start them.

Related posts:

1. Chryanthemums: How to Grow Year-Round in mild-winter climates

I tried diatomaceous earth for a while, but it would wash away and the earwigs would return. I also tried flushing them out with water and squashing as many as possible while they scurried around. Ultimately though, every artichoke bud was turned into swiss cheese with tunnel holes and earwig frass everywhere. Very unappetizing. It was so frustrating that I wasn’t going to bother with them again this fall. But if you think there is an organic solution I missed, I would definitely be willing to try again. I toyed with the idea of trying Sluggo Plus but I’m glad I didn’t after reading your post on what a hazard to bees it is.
Any advice you could offer would be hugely appreciated. Thank you so much!

Answer from Pat:
After planting the artichokes and before the earwigs have invaded, surround the stems of the artichokes with a thick layer of dry, bagged earthworm castings over the roots. I am pretty sure this will take care of the problem and get rid of the earwigs. Also I don’t think Sluggo Plus® would harm bees if used on the ground only surrounding the stems.

Let me know how the earthworm castings works for you.

Related posts:

1. Artichokes
2. Mulching Artichokes
3. Rust and Leaf-curl on Artichoke Leaves

Question from Dee:

Answer from Pat:
Most herbs are easy to grow but variegated thyme is a little less long-lived than common thyme (Thymus vulgarus.) If you live in a very hot place your herbs would appreciate light shade rather than full sun. Thyme likes deep, light, well-drained soil, it doesn’t grow well in heavy clay. If you have clay soil, amend it well with organics before planting. Thyme prefers deep watering so that it dries out between irrigations, but I find that creeping types of thyme need more water and moister soil than most people think.
Growing creeping thymes between stepping stones is one of the best ways, keeping roots cool, moist but not overwatered. Almost any type of thyme grows best next to a rock that it can nestle its roots under. In sun that bakes as long as your query suggests, a nice big, cool rock nestled into the ground next to the plant would do wonders. Clip the plant back as it grows. This will make it put out fresh growth and stay bushy. Yes, you can grow thyme in pots filled with a good quality of potting soil, but choose one large enough for roots. About one foot across should do the trick.

True French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) needs somewhat richer soil than thyme but prefers it to be well-drained. It can even take some fertilizer to keep it growing. Yes, this plant also can be grown with a little shade and does well in pots. I have had luck growing it in the garden and also pots. If you have the real French tarragon, it tastes good in cooking and clip it back to keep it branching and growing. Mexican tarragon (Tagetes lucida) lacks the real taste of tarragon. It doesn’t taste as good. All tarragon dies to the ground in winter. In mild zones it usually rots and doesn’t come back the following year. With as much heat as evidently your plants have had, it might have suffered from root rot. I think both your plants might have been victims of heat. Rock gardens are ideal for growing herbs.

Since you are new to gardening, please don’t become discouraged, but try to keep you spirits up. All of us have failures sometimes and some plants die no matter what. So keep on trying, experimenting, and learning by experience. New gardeners often fail to do proper soil improvement prior to planting and sometimes they either over or under water plants, and over or under fertilize them. Eventually you will get the hang of the whole subject and have success.

Related posts:

1. French Marigolds Work Against Nematodes

Answer from Pat:
I’m sorry your wisterias are dying from root rot. They are perhaps already dead. There may be nothing you can do to save them, but don’t become discouraged! You will just have to find a spot with better drainage and replant. That’s what I did at my house. See the story Chapter 7, “The Wisteria That Would Not Give Up,” in my first memoir: “All My Edens: A Gardeners Memoir,” published by Chronicle Books in 1996. (Long out of print but you can find used copies on the Internet.)

Not sure where you live but in Southern California where I live rains were heavy this winter. Yes, a wisteria could certainly die from root rot. This does not need to be Cotton Root Rot, but any root rot. Wisterias need good drainage. When I planted my first wisteria 50 years ago I knew that, but I didn’t know the correct way to provide it. I built a sump instead of a drain. A sump consists of a narrower hole dug on the bottom of a planting hole and filled with rocks. Years ago it was mistakenly thought to help drainage but of course it did not. Instead, it simply filled up with water thus provlding an underground swimming pool for roots. Roots went in there and soon rotted. This killed my first wisteria. (The full story is told in the chapter mentioned above and I don’t want to spoil it by telling you the ending.)

But I can tell you this: A better way to improve drainage in poorly drained soil is to build a raised bed. The raised bed doesn’t need to be very high. Just 4 inches will suffice. Fill the raised bed with top soil mixed with the native soil and then dig your hole through the raised bed and into the soil below and plant into the ground that way. Also if drainage is poor due to the alkalinity of clay soil, then dig as much as half a coffee can of gypsum into the bottom of the hole before planting.

Related posts:

1. Wisteria and coffee grounds
2. Plant Clivia beneath Wisteria
3. Reed avocado, root rot and bacterial leaf spot

Question from Christina:

Answer from Pat:
Cilantro is an annual plant. It is not a perennial. An annual grows only for one season and then sets seeds and dies. Cilantro often goes purple when it is ready to set seed and die. If it is being grown in a small container with crowded roots, the plant will be stressed, it will think it’s going to die, so it will go purple and bolt (that is go to seed) prematurely in order to leave some progeny and continue its race.

Cilantro grows best in the ground or in a raised bed, not in a small container. When growing cilantro in a container make sure it is a large one, such as an 18-inch tub. Place the tub in full sun and water it regularly and enough to keep the ground evenly moist. (Whenever you water a plant in a container, you should water enough so that water pours out the bottom of the pot. This keeps the salts washed out. Salts also would ruin your crop.) Additionally when growing in a container, be sure to fertilize cilantro regularly. Potting mix contains no fertilizer. You must provide food for the plant so it will grow rapidly.

Since cilantro is an annual it won’t live forever. As soon as it is about 5 inches tall, begin harvesting with scissors and leave some growing so you can harvest more. Every time you harvest fertilize the plant to keep it growing. For example you could use fish emulsion mixed according to package directions.

In my Southern California garden I have only grown cilantro as a cool-season crop, planting it in fall or simply waiting until it volunteers and then allowing it to grow, and harvesting often. When it gets old and ready to bolt it often goes a bit purple. The purple leaves are not poisonous but they are strong tasting. The young leaves are the best part to eat. The older leaves are a different shape and generally too strong in flavor to eat unless cooked in soup.

In home gardens cilantro germinates easily in fall, grows well in cool temperatures and flourishes when grown throughout cool weather. When subjected to temperature swings such as hot days or dry soil, this can turn leaves purple also. Purple leaves often occur before the plants bolt or go to seed.

Grow cilantro in moist, fertile, well-drained soil and harvest it when young. If you cut off the top foliage often, the plants will continue to send up more growth, but eventually the plants, being annuals, will be worn out and will either die or bolt. Keep cilantro growing rapidly with regular applications of balanced organic fertilizer and adequate water and it should not have purple leaves.

To have regular harvests, plant successive crops throughout the season. If seeds won’t sprout due to warm soil temperatures, try freezing them overnight in a plastic bag prior to planting.

Related posts:

1. Lima Bean
2. Scarlet Runner Beans

Answer from Pat:
Sorry your mom was sick and I hope she is better now. It’s always best to plant with the seasons, but sometimes circumstances make it impossible. Every year is different and it just means one gets to learn even more. Years ago when things went wrong in the vegetable garden I always felt maybe this was happening so I could gradually find out all the answers. But it turns out there is always more to learn! If you do winter vegetables next fall, however, be sure to plant at the right time. If not planting winter veggies, take the opportunity to put in a cover crop such as scarlet clover and dig it into the ground the following spring prior to planting in order to improve the soil.

It’s difficult to grow good tomatoes with a drip system. I prefer digging a watering basin around each tomato and then soaking the soil deeply once a week or once every week and a half, depending on the type of soil and how well it retains moisture. Sometimes I allow one watering basin to spill into the next one so that one can put the hose down at one end of the row and let it run until it fills up all the basins in the whole row. By watering slowly but deeply, fruit is less likely to get blossom end rot then when plants are watered shallowly and often. One of the farm advisors once told me that commercial growers have a lot of problems with tomato blossom end rot because they water with drip systems. They add calcium to try to prevent it, but it doesn’t work. Blossom end rot comes from uneven moisture in the soil and drip systems seem to encourage that condition, not prevent it.

With peppers you might find the blossoms fall off if the weather gets too hot. Peppers set fruit best when nighttime temperatures are between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit and daytime temperatures around 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit can cause blossom drop.

Related posts:

1. Stop blossoms from dropping off tomatoes
2. When to plant tomatoes for fall/early winter harvest
3. Concentric rings on Tomatoes

Question from Lewis:

Answer from Pat:
The best time to plant tomatoes for summer use is in March, but this year our temperatures have been cool along the coast and cool temperatures can lead to bud drop so use a tomato-blossom set and grow cold-resistant varieties when planting early.

When planting tomatoes for tomatoes for fall harvest, choose early or cold-resistant tomatoes and count the days to harvest backwards from the time you want to be picking fruit to when to plant. For example if you choose a plant that bears in 58 days, you will want to plant in early August if you want to begin harvesting in late September. My guess is that most often you will want to plant in late July or early August for fall picking.

Some of early and cold-resistant varieties include Early Girl Improved VFNT, Champion 11 VFNT, Grushovka #4717, Jetsetter VFFNTA Hybrid #4519, and Oregon Spring V #2712, and Siberian #2908. Tomato Growers Exchange lists a whole page of cold-resistant varieties, and other catalogues have a few too, but beware of those which may also need long days, since our days in fall are growing shorter. Use blossom-set spray to keep the blossoms from dropping off when nights are cold or days too hot.

Related posts:

1. Winter Tomatoes
2. Stop blossoms from dropping off tomatoes
3. Controlling Early Blight on Tomatoes

Answer from Pat:
Yes, I sure do have a suggestion. You need to undertake a program of corrective pruning in winter or very early spring after your tree has dropped its leaves and before new buds open, followed by annual fall pruning to keep the tree growing and bearing. You also need to undertake a regular schedule of cleaning up the tree to remove all mummified fruit, debris, twigs, and dead fallen bark, and thoroughly clean up the ground under the tree in winter, followed by spraying with fungicide more than once in winter to control the pests and diseases that can and will beset neglected peach trees. Also cover the ground with fresh mulch under the tree after spraying and pruning. This will do much to control diseases, and fertilize your trees according the the time and directions provided by your local University Extension. Placing a layer of aged manure under the tree after cleaning the ground in fall, and covering the root zone but not touching the trunk, could do much to aid the health and recovery of your tree and would provide both fertilizer and mulch. (Deciduous fruit trees do not have a heavy requirement for fertilizer but they do need some.)

It sounds to me as if your tree is suffering from a disease such as brown rot, which results in mummified and rotting fruit, or it may have other fungus diseases such as bacterial leaf spot, which can also turn fruit brown and shriveled. Also, your failure to prune is why the tree can no longer bear much fruit. Oozing of sap can be caused by diseases such as gumosis, but also from peach-tree borers and other pests. Unfortunately, neglected peach trees always go into severe decline and seldom if ever come to a good end.

Peach trees need more severe winter pruning than any other deciduous fruit trees because the fruit is only born on one-year old shoots. Dormant spray is done to control pests as well as diseases. If you do not prune and if your tree isn’t bearing or only bearing on the tips, this is because you haven’t pruned it enough to stimulate growth of adequate new wood that will bear the following year.

Go to your local book store or look online and purchase a good book on pruning deciduous fruit trees. Make sure it contains diagrams. You will also need to know when to prune in your area. Here in California where I live we have a mild-winter climate so we prune our deciduous fruit trees in January. In summer the only pruning we do is to remove suckers arising from branches or from the ground. In Ohio the right time of year to prune a young peach tree is March. But your tree is a mature tree, and timing for that might be different, so refer to the University Extension In your area and phone the Master Gardeners for advice. I would expect March to be the time to prune, but I am not sure about the correct time to prune in Illinois, so ask the experts at your University of Illinois University Extension. Also send for a copy of Ohio State University Extension Bulletin 528. “Training and Pruning Fruit Trees.” (Mentioned below.) You can also find out if there is a similar publication in Illinois.

For your own safety I recommend you purchase a sturdy three-legged ladder. A three-legged orchard ladder is one of the best purchases a gardener can ever make. I have owned one of these for many years. With good care it can last a lifetime.

Brown rot is a fungus disease that attacks fruits and twigs of stone fruits. Peach leaf curl attacks the leaves of peach trees twisting them out of shape and can kill trees. Another disease is bacterial leaf spot which causes black or brown spots on green leaves and brown sunken areas on fruit. In order to prevent these diseases from ruining your harvest and killing your tree, in addition to pruning you will need to undertake undertake a regular program of annual dormant spray in late fall and winter, which you will need to repeat more than once. (Ask your University Extension when spraying should be done and wear protective clothing.) Spray with a product such as dormant disease lime sulfur spray mixed with horticultural oil against pests. Some organic gardeners claim that beneficial fungi control all negative fungi in their gardens, but obviously this is not the case in your garden. Thus you need to spray with dormant spray. If you are an organic gardener, choose an organic product, such as Bonide Organic Lime Sulfur Spray. Even organic gardeners need to use dormant spray on roses or if they intend to have any luck growing deciduous fruit trees, especially peaches that are more subject to disease problems than any other fruit tree.

For more information: Please refer to the information on peach leaf curl on pages 59 and 62 of my organic book and see the information on pruning of peaches and other deciduous fruit trees discussed on page 51. Page 382 once again covers the subject of peach leaf curl at the right time of year when we need to control it here. This timing of course will not be right for you, but will help others reading this blog.

For how to correct your tree’s shape and size, see UC University Extension Publication 8058: Pruning Overgrown Deciduous Fruit Trees. (This pamphlet is on the internet and includes excellent instructions for correcting an overgrown deciduous fruit tree.) Also see: Ohio State University Extension Bulletin 528. “Training and Pruning Fruit Trees.”
Ohio University Extension Fact Sheet 4321-1086 will also give you much information on growing peaches and nectarines in the home landscape.
University of Illinois Extension has some helpful information also: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/fruit/tree.cfm?section=tree
Also see this valuable information from the University of Illinois (Your state!) http://urbanext.illinois.edu/fruit/peaches.cfm?section=tree

It is not too late to save your peach trees but I hope you realize now you can’t simply plant them and forget them.

Related posts:

1. Corrective Pruning Fruit Trees
2. Dormant Spray For Low-Chill Apple Trees
3. Preventing Sap From Oozing from Peach and Nectarine Fruit

Question from Kathy:

Anyway, you were wonderful to reply to me and my problem and I will later on let you know how I make out.
Regards, Kathy

Answer from Pat:
Bearded iris are not drought-resistant plants. They need regular irrigation and full sun. Sometimes when iris stop blooming it is because they have insufficient water or fertilizer, but nine times out of ten it is because they were once in full sun and now are in full shade or have not been divided for many years. See the June chapter of my book for instructions on how to divide and replant bearded iris.

Related posts:

1. Pruning for Fortnight Lily (Dietes iridioides, D. bicolor)
2. Princess Plants (Tibouchina heteromalla and Tibouchina urvilleana.)
3. Fortnight Lilies