| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| cauliflowers | 10/8/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: Why has my latest crop of cauliflowers produced fantastic foliage but no heads? ANSWER: Coral: My ...
A: Coral: I am sorry that I could not be of better service. However, I appreciate your disagreeing ...
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| cauliflowers | 10/7/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: Why has my latest crop of cauliflowers produced fantastic foliage but no heads?
A: Coral: My first thought was cross pollination but then I think that the reason could be defficiency ...
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| Plant problem | 10/5/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I live in LasVegas,Nevada. I just bought 1 tomato plant, 3 putunias, 1 dahlia only about 2 weeks ago ...
A: Michelle, it all depends on whether or not the plant has actually contracted a disease. If so, you ...
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| Butternut harvest and storage | 10/4/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: i am havesting about 1 1/2 acres ofbutternut i planted a little late this year, most are fairly ...
A: If kept in a cool location that is dry, squash will last up to three months without losing taste or ...
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| acorn squash | 10/2/2008 | Kindred Beisinger |
Q: How can I tell when the acorn squash is ready to pick? Thank you.
A: Acorn squash become a very forest or deeper green and often with some gold around the stem or "tip" ...
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| Avocado Propagation | 10/1/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I know pretty much nothing about plants.. but I recently (as an experiment) put two stints on either ...
A: Jill, when propagating avocados from pits, the point should be up and the root down. It should be ...
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| Growing Tomato's | 9/27/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: I have grown tomato's in the past and always had great plants. But, this year, my plants started out ...
A: Tammy: Look very closly on the back of the leaves for mites. I think that your plants have a ...
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| Potatoes; Green | 9/26/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: We have just dug our potatoes. We grow organically. Many of the potatoes we dug are partially ...
A: The green portions of potatoes contain a toxin called solanine. If eaten in small amounts, it ...
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| peppers and kiwi | 9/26/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: my jalapeno peppers are turning black,and they're pretty small. any ideas on what would cause this? ...
A: Cindy: I have had the same experience with the jalapeno peppers. This is a fungus and you need to ...
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| Collard Greens | 9/25/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: This my first year growing collard greens (or anything for that matter.) They were doing fine until ...
A: Jocelyne: I think you may have two problems with your collard greens, night cut worms and possibly ...
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| Tall Bellpepper plants | 9/24/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: I live in southwest Alabama and I was just wondering what was the tallest Bellpepper plant known ...
A: Brian: Don't know how tall the peppers grow. When I lived in Boaz on top of Sand Mountain we grew ...
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| Slugs on tomatoes and potatoes | 9/24/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I live in the small town of Coleville, Saskatchewan Canada. My question is I have some kind of ...
A: It definitely sounds like a common slug. I, too, have had many heartaches over the damage slugs ...
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| Lots of blossoms, few vegetables | 9/23/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: My tomato and cucumber plants this year produced a multitude of blossoms buy few tomatoes and ...
A: When blossoms or young fruit fall off prematurely, it is usually an indication of one of two ...
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| Melons | 9/22/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: I have Cantaloupe, Honey Dew and Watermelon. We leave in Utah. My Question is how can you tell when ...
A: Rosie: You have asked an age old question. Thumping the mellons is a way of telling if there is a ...
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| cantaloupe | 9/21/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: I live in Oregon about 20 minutes east of Salem. As the fruits are beginning to ripen the non-stem ...
A: Dave: This called fruit end rot and comes from a fungus. This late in the growing season you may ...
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| Ripening Tomatos | 9/17/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: Does with holding water from a tomato plant help it ripen quicker on the vine ?
A: Jennifer: It is better not to withhold water from you plants as they will die. Hot weather and ...
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| Canning sweet peppers | 9/16/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: What is the procedure for canning sweet peppers?
A: Paul: For canning peppers you need to use a vinegar and salt water mixture in hot boiling water. ...
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| Vegetables | 9/16/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I am a new veg gardener , I live in the North East of England , what can I plant now for a crop ...
A: Carol, most vegetable seeds are sowed indoors or in a greenhouse six weeks prior to transplanting ...
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| Starting a Vegetable patch in Thailand | 9/15/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I am currently working as a volunteer for an orphanage in Northern Thailand (IHF in Chiang Rai) We ...
A: My first recommendation would be to not start too big on your first garden. Gardening requires a ...
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| Soil preperation for 2009 | 9/14/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: I have nematodes and molds in our soil, 2008 was not a good year for our garden is there a way to ...
A: Randall: The best answer for this problem to to till the soil and not plant anything in it for one ...
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| Acorn and butternut Squash | 9/14/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: How do you know when they are ready to be picked.I know you can pick Zuchinni almost any time. Not ...
A: Jim, butternut and acorn squash will always start off with a greenish tint that gradually evolves ...
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| Ants in my container garden | 9/13/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: I was just wondering what I can do about ants migrating to my planters. My garden consists of ...
A: Arturo: With regards to ants they are difficult to deal with and are attracted by many things. At ...
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| sugar baby watermelons | 9/11/2008 | Kindred Beisinger |
Q: This is the 2nd year we have grown sugar babies. Last year they were beautiful, sweet and red ...
A: If you're not doing anything differently, you're not doing anything wrong. The weather has been ...
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| Splitting tomatoes | 9/10/2008 | Kindred Beisinger |
Q: I live in South Dakota and I am growing some tomatoes. Some of my tomatoes have been splitting on ...
A: It has to do with excess moisture and sun at various stages of maturity. It's a common problem this ...
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| Vegtable Storage | 9/9/2008 | Kindred Beisinger |
Q: Our garden has produced more than we can eat or give away. We do have an underground fruit cellar ...
A: I recommend that you first place a pallet on the cellar floor. That will keep the veges from ...
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| tomato | 9/9/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: I live in Hawaii and the temperature here runs between mid 60's to mid 90's all year long, my ...
A: Harry: You can plant the seeds directly in the ground but I strongly recommend that you put them in ...
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| jalepenos and anaheim peppers | 9/9/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: I received two of those toppsy turvey things were you grow vegetables up-side down, in one i put the ...
A: Ian: I am not familiar with growing upside down. Try growing up right. Make sure that you don't ...
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| freezing hot peppers | 9/9/2008 | Kindred Beisinger |
Q: i am wondering if you have ever frozen hot peppers? this is my first year using our garden plot and ...
A: A.B., It's been a long time, so I suggest a Google Search, but if I remember correctly. It seems we ...
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| butternut squash | 9/6/2008 | Kindred Beisinger |
Q: I did not know when to pick my butternut squash. The size was right but the color still green. Now ...
A: Susan, You're Welcome. Butternut squash is actually just a light tan when it's ripe. The center is ...
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| freezing hot peppers | 9/5/2008 | Kindred Beisinger |
Q: i am wondering if you have ever frozen hot peppers? this is my first year using our garden plot and ...
A: I freeze green peppers and love them. I always can hot peppers though, because even if there are ...
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| Pumkin's | 9/5/2008 | Kindred Beisinger |
Q: we have a few pumpkins' growing one is VERY BIG there are about 4 more big ones some are being to ...
A: Squirrels can be a real nuisance. Sometimes a cat or dog can help the problem, but I don't know ...
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| Butternut and Acorn Squash | 9/4/2008 | Kindred Beisinger |
Q: This is the first time I have ever tried to grow squash and what a harvest I will have. Way too ...
A: If they are the correct color and large, pick one and try it. I don't wait for the vine to die off ...
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| butternut squash | 9/4/2008 | Kindred Beisinger |
Q: Do you know what causes the leaves to turn brown and can I cut them off. I still have many new ...
A: The weather has been so unusual this year, I'm not sure the plants know which end of the season it ...
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| Tomatoes; not turning red | 9/4/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: at the moment the weather here in the uk is terrible, rain all the time, i have severel tomatoe ...
A: Mike, they will still turn red. The excess water in the soil is leeching nutrients needed for the ...
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| Jalapeno Pepper Problems | 9/4/2008 | Don Battales |
Q: When I cut my peppers open the membrane and seeds have a brownish color and apperar to be rotted. ...
A: Bruce: About 1/4 of a tea spoon of soap in each gallon mixture. Here mites are our largest problem ...
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| healthy pepper plants, no fuit | 9/3/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I have large 'healthy' pepper plants, but they do not produce any peppers. They are in a full sun ...
A: Jane, blossom-drop on most vegetables is almost always caused by poor pollination. However, peppers ...
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| tomatoes | 9/2/2008 | Kindred Beisinger |
Q: can you tell me what causes freckles on tomatoes? do they need to be cut out before being eaten or ...
A: I believe it's water spots that get sunlight. I think it's kind of a burn. I don't worry about ...
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| Spaghetti Squash | 9/1/2008 | Kindred Beisinger |
Q: I live in South Eastern Ontario, Canada and this year is the second year I have grown this kind of ...
A: This has been a difficult year for things affected by excess moisture. Burning is fine, fire ...
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| Burpless cukes | 8/29/2008 | Kindred Beisinger |
Q: This is the first year I tried growing burpless cucumbers They are growing fat and round like a ...
A: Debbie, I think they are, they sound like the hybrid mix may be some sort of melon or something. I ...
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| Burpless cukes | 8/27/2008 | Kindred Beisinger |
Q: This is the first year I tried growing burpless cucumbers They are growing fat and round like a ...
A: Burpless cucumbers are hybrids. This is one of the "side-effects" or negative results of ...
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