Plant M.D.
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What is a safe organic way to keep rabbits from eating my perennials? Thank you, Brendan Spaar
We have 4 apple trees. 2 honey crisp and 2 haraldsons. I would love to have a complete list of what I should do from early spring to harvest, in order to have healthy trees. I really dislike worms in the apples. I do use organic spray. Please advise. Much appricate.
We have numerous white pine trees in our yard and in the surrounding area. Last fall and over the winter 2 of the trees in our yard died, all the needles turned brown and started dropping. Had those trees removed and now 2 more have died or are dying. There are fine flakes of sawdust falling from the tree that is currently dying and we can hear some type of insect gnawing but can’t see what it is since the tree is so tall. We plan to have these trees removed also but one of them is in close proximity to 2 additional white pines and we are afraid that whatever is happening will continue with the trees we have left. What could possibly be going on?
Hi, I would like to know how to control/get rid of blight. My tomatoes get blight every year.
Thank you!
Early blight and late blight:caused by fungus. Control is difficult, must be caught early. Remove and burn affected branches, thin plant to allow air circulation may help. Fungicide for vegetables containing Chlorothalonil may also provide control if applied prior or very early in the course of the disease and on a regular basis. Follow instructions on chemical.Tomatoes resistant to late blight: better boy, golden sweet, green zebra, Wisconsin 55 regal plum, roma.(more listed on UW Extention website). Prevention: destroy infected plants by burning then. Rotate plants to other parts of garden.(fungus can be in soil) Do not overmulch. Eliminate wet conditions and poor air circulation. If you have access to computer go to uwextentionhorticulture website for further information
I have a white pine (about 6′ tall).It’s interior needles are black and I noticed what looks like asian beetles on it. I have 3 other white pines in the vicinity that look healthy. Can I treat this tree, and do I have to worry about the healthy ones? Thanks!
We have a flowering crabapple that did not bloom this year. The leaves have been falling since late Spring. Could it be Apple Scab?
Also, our maple tree’s leaves have been falling since July. They have not turned color yet. Is there a disease the maples get now?
What is the easiest rain barrel to make?
Here is what we did:
Bought 4 55 gallon food grade plastic barrels (watched craigslist for postings-we were lucky and paid $5 each
Bought 4 bulkhead fittings from Minnesota Wanner, a irrigation supply company. Some people just caulk a hose bib inside a hole, but we wanted something more durable. You just drill a hole in the side of the barrel close to the bottom, and push one end of the bulkhead fitting through the hole from the inside and screw the outside “nut” on and you have a solid fitting. The bulkhead fittings are about $5 each.
The bulkhead fitting has threads inside so if you wanted you can just screw a hose bib into it. We don’t like the hose bibs because the water volume comes out REALLY slow, so we installed Gilmour brand spigots that let much more water flow. The Gilmour spigots cost about $6 (plus you’ll need a nipple that screws into the bulkhead fitting and then the spigot screws onto the nipple-about $2).
So, for $18 dollars each, you have a solid long lasting high volume rain barrel.
Our barrels didn’t have removable covers, so we used a sabre saw and cut an opening in the top for our downspout. We have 4 barrels, providing 220 gallons of rainwater storage.
This is a test question from tj. What steps are necessary to dry, cure and store black walnuts?
My grandfather always used to bag up the walnuts in a burlap bag in the garage through the fall. The nuts would dry enough to take the husks off and then he would spend the winter months cracking the shells in a vise in the basement. We always got a nice bag of nuts for Christmas or Easter as time allowed.
Worms eating needles of Blue Spruce
The worms are probably sawfly worms but are too mature to treat now chemicaly. Soon they should be pupating and you will be able to pick them off by hand if still Necessary