Tag: gluten based

How to eliminate wild violets from a vegetable garden

Q: My vegetable garden is totally taken over by those wild violets. I keep pulling and they keep growing. Endless job. I am planning to weed and turn over the garden and weed again. I’ve heard that the best time to spray to kill the wild violets is in late fall. My question is if I do spray in the fall — what should I use so that I can plant the vegetables again in the spring. Is it safe to spray weed killer and plant in the spring? Thanks

— Ed Frack

Sue Kittek

MONICA CABRERA / TMC

Sue Kittek

These cute little plants can be a nightmare for both lawn and vegetable/flower garden lovers. The sweet things are very invasive and very difficult to remove. They spread by seed and underground root. Digging, as Ed mentions is tedious and at best, a long-term, perhaps lifetime, job. However, it is

… Read the rest

It’s too hot for your garden

The recent weather has been exceptionally humid and quite hot. This has been very uncomfortable for humans but also takes a toll of the garden. This will be most notable in the vegetable garden as you notice a decrease in your harvest in the next few weeks. Before you panic, looking for problems, be aware that it may just be the effects of the recent hot weather. Blossom drop, failure to flower, slow or stopped growth, dropped leaves and curling leaves are all symptoms of heat stress.

Tomatoes are a good example of plants that are affected by heat. Daytime temperatures between 85 and 95 F and nighttime temperatures above 75 F will cause flowers to drop — no flowers, no tomatoes. Remember, tomatoes are wind pollinated. High humidity will moisten the pollen, making it too heavy to pollinate.

Many other plants will experience similar problems. Blossom drop is common

… Read the rest