| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| Ants; Organic Control | 7/22/2009 | Mike Mascio |
Q: Baldwinsville (near Syracuse) NY I have an ant problem in my intensive, raised vegetable bed. The ...
A: The only organic product I have found to be effective on ants is diatomaceous earth. Ants will crawl ...
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| African roma tomatoes | 6/19/2009 | Sojourner |
Q: I have four of these. How many squares will they take?
A: If it's an indeterminate variety (grows long and viny) I would space them 2' apart all ways. If ...
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| squash leaves turning brown | 6/13/2009 | Sojourner |
Q: I started a container vegetable garden a little over a month ago. The plants are outside, on my ...
A: Are you sure they're fire ants? Fire ants are extremely aggressive and they build large mounds - ...
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| problems with my vegees, not sure what | 5/25/2009 | ben johnson |
Q: I recently started gardening in raised beds and containers. I started some beautiful tomotoes, ...
A: Your plants seem to be suffering from a combination of factors, cool to cold nighttime temperatures ...
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| raised beds | 5/17/2009 | Sojourner |
Q: I am going to try and grow some vegetables. I am going to plant in raised beds and i got a load of ...
A: Well now, we're planting using the Square Foot method, aren't we? Typically for carrots and other ...
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| Magazines OK to use to kill grass? | 5/10/2009 | Sojourner |
Q: I want to start a raised bed garden to do some sq ft gardening in an area that's currently lawn. I ...
A: I wouldn't do it. Not because of the ink, but because the glossy paper used in magazines doesn't ...
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| Shipping Passion Flower Suckers | 5/5/2009 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I have a large patch of passion flowers, the wild Maypop type, growing in my pasture here in Eastern ...
A: I would definitely ship them in a light-weight clear plastic filled with peat moss. Just make sure ...
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| cinder blocks in raised beds | 4/2/2009 | Jim Kennard |
Q: We used 18" cinder blocks as the walls for our raised beds and to get more space I put soil in the ...
A: Remove your plants from those tiny places. There is not enough space for proper root growth. ...
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| Square foot gardening grids/Atlanta Georgia | 3/29/2009 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I'm making my 1st 4x4 garden and i what to know what to use to make the grid and the best soil ...
A: Brenda, I use cedar wood because it will not rot. I would stay away from the treated lumber since it ...
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| Raised bed on cement patio? | 3/10/2009 | Mike Mascio |
Q: Please help… we have a sunny area in the back that is paved with cement. I think it’s the perfect ...
A: Diane, I would not use concrete as a foundation for your new garden. Regardless of what you line the ...
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| Square foot garden | 2/13/2009 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I'm considering putting in a square foot garden this year, mainly because I'm too darn lazy and old ...
A: Yes you can place the box over the grass. If you do proceed in this manner, you will need to cover ...
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| Buying Seeds | 2/1/2009 | Sojourner |
Q: I need to buy seed for a 5000 sq ft vegetable garden. I live in Southern New Hampshire and I was ...
A: There are many good seed companies. I can't recommend any particular company as I don't know what ...
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| Watermelon & Square-foot gardening | 1/30/2009 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I am trying to find info on growing watermelon using the square foot garden method. I can't find ...
A: Due to the limited space, most gardeners grow squash and melons vertically when using the square ...
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| optimizing garden soil | 11/15/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I need advise about whether to amend a 1 foot deep raised bed of well composted horse, cow and sheep ...
A: Dick, it sounds like all you need is sulfur to reduce the ph level to near 7.0, but I would not get ...
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| Beginner vegetable garden | 10/10/2008 | Sojourner |
Q: I have looked around for information on beginning a vegetable garden. However most of these sites ...
A: Mel Bartholmew's book on Square Foot Gardening is an excellent beginner's guide to gardening. There ...
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| Gourds; Planting Time | 9/16/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I live in the central valley of Calif. and want to know when to plant hard shell goards, how deep ...
A: Susan, sorry about that. You sow the seeds directly into the garden one week after your last ...
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| Growing roots in water | 9/15/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I have a large indoor tree that grew so high, when i came home from a short trip the stems had ...
A: You can transplant them into a pot now. Be sure to use a fertile potting soil in a 12" pot with a ...
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| planting gourds | 9/14/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I live in the central valley of Calif. and want to know when to plant hard shell goards, how deep ...
A: Gourd seeds should be planted one inch deep and 2 feet apart. This is true for all members of the ...
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| Camellia | 8/25/2008 | Jim Kennard |
Q: I've had a pink camellia in a container for ovr 7 years in SC. It continues to bloom every year and ...
A: Phyllis: Some varieties of camellia prefer some shade, but most need at least some direct sunlight, ...
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| Best direction of rows | 8/15/2008 | Jim Kennard |
Q: I would like to know if there is a better or best direction to plant rows of vegetables? Is ...
A: It really doesn't matter which direction your rows go. What IS important is that all of your plants ...
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| no flowers on many plants | 8/4/2008 | Jim Kennard |
Q: This is my first attempt at gardening in Maine we have had a lot of rain lately and I was wondering ...
A: What vegetables are you growing? Many don't produce flowers until later, when they are going to ...
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| Sq ft. gardening/raised beds in greenhouse | 7/25/2008 | Jim Kennard |
Q: We are just building a greenhouse (14x20). I would like to use raised or elevated beds since the ...
A: A good height for working would be 32" for the top of the beds. You could therefore build tables ...
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| Sq ft. gardening/raised beds in greenhouse | 7/25/2008 | Jim Kennard |
Q: We are just building a greenhouse (14x20). I would like to use raised or elevated beds since the ...
A: I do not recommend plastic or rubber on the bottom of your containers. Usually the best bottom is ...
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| vegetables dying? | 6/25/2008 | Jim Kennard |
Q: S)and i recently planted cucumbers,watermelon,corn,tomatoes,canteloup,pumpkin,and carrots in small ...
A: You should try getting them some relief from the sun and heat. Temperatures over 100 are very hard ...
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| Container tomatoes | 6/18/2008 | Jim Kennard |
Q: I need help with my tomatoes. I have grown them in a garden before. But this year is my first ...
A: Tomatoes must have full sun to do well. The yellowing is probably being contributed to by the shady ...
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| Green Beans | 6/18/2008 | Jim Kennard |
Q: Have planted a row of green beans in my small garden. They aren't coming up very well. I followed ...
A: Did you plant them into hard clay soil? Here's how we plant been seeds: 1) Make a straight ...
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| growing onions | 5/12/2008 | Jim Kennard |
Q: I remember my father pulling dirt away from green onions, was this to grow larger ones? I would like ...
A: Sue: Don't take the dirt away from around your green onions. You DO need to make sure they are ...
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| Coal in soil | 4/19/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I have small chips (but they are plentiful) of natural coal in a section of my yard where I would ...
A: Lynne, unless you plan on renovating that section by digging out the old soil and replacing it with ...
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| Growing corn (small patch) | 4/18/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: we moved to a rural area over 2 yrs. ago in Southeastern, Ontario, Canada and are on an acre. We ...
A: Paula, corn is actually very easy to grow, but it does require some knowledge and quite a bit of ...
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| raised beds | 3/30/2008 | Jim Kennard |
Q: I've read about using manure, compost and peat for planting medium in a square foot garden. What is ...
A: I highly recommend you consider carefully before using manure and compost in your raised-bed garden. ...
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| railroad ties | 3/21/2008 | Jim Kennard |
Q: My wife and I put railroad tie raised bed in last June and haven't started a garden yet, now my ...
A: Greg: If the railroad ties were brand new and had never been used there would be some problem with ...
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| Bougainvillea | 12/4/2007 | Mike Mascio |
Q: Not sure about spelling, but I have a huge bougainvillea in my garden and want to transplant to a ...
A: Meredith, propagation by cuttings is the preferred choice. Simply cut a tender shoot that is at ...
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| Snail control | 12/3/2007 | Mike Mascio |
Q: Is there a home remedy for the control of snail eating putunias and impatients. Help
A: There are not many home remedies for snails, but there are many different inexpensive options for ...
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| Shady garden area | 11/30/2007 | Jim Kennard |
Q: The only area I have in my yard is behind a 6 foot block wall that blocks the sunlight in the ...
A: Direct sunlight is essential for good vegetable plant growth - especially fruiting varieties - as ...
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| Raised Beds | 10/29/2007 | ben johnson |
Q: I want to use raised beds, mainly for vegetables, but I am unsure about the wood walls. Autoclaved ...
A: I too would worry about the chemical seepage into the groundover time. If looks are important use ...
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| Skunks | 10/7/2007 | Mike Mascio |
Q: During the last three weeks. skunks like to visit my front yard and dig up my lawn and make a lot of ...
A: Jasper, skunks are attracted to grubs in the soil. They will dig verociously when they find them in ...
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| american beauty | 9/4/2007 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: we have just recently bought an American beauty plant and are wondering what time of year to plant ...
A: Hopefully you live an an area with a planting zone of 5 and above. The plants do well in partial ...
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| mulching | 7/8/2007 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: have were given wood and branch chips, quit a lot of it. we put this in the walk ways of our garden. ...
A: If you are just walking on it in a path it does not matter at all, and if it is acid, it will help ...
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| snapbeans | 6/9/2007 | Frank and Vicky Giannangelo |
Q: Why can't I grow snapbeans? When I plant beans I get a brown blotch on the leaves and the leaves ...
A: Diseases that may attack beans include anthracnose, bacterial blight, mosaic, root rot and rust. It ...
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| snapbeans | 6/9/2007 | Jim Kennard |
Q: Why can't I grow snapbeans? When I plant beans I get a brown blotch on the leaves and the leaves ...
A: We'll have a difficult time being real accurate in answering your question without seeing the plant ...
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