How To Support Growing Tomato Plants
There are many options for supporting tomato plants in your garden. Gardener Peter Richards shows several methods he has tried and talks about what he likes and does not like about each one. He says that the traditional wire tomato cages do not work, instead you need a sturdier structure. He talks about and shows the pros and cons of heavy tomato cages, the Florida weave, livestock panel platform, tying the plants to a pole and tying them up with string. His personal favorite is to prune the tomatoes into a vine and use string to tie them up. He says this method makes it so you don’t need to spray fungicides nearly as often or at all and the plant will stay blight free for most of the year.
Related Videos: Tomato Support: The Florida Weave Tying up Tomato Plants Tomato Stake Extension Related Resource: Growing Tomatoes Tomatoes - Staking |
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Trimming Off Spent Bulb BloomsThis week in the garden Tonya Ashworth shows two ways to tell if your woody plant is dead. She demonstrates the snap test and the scrape test. >>Watch
Spring dead spot is a fungal disease that affects warm season grass in the spring. UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper says it usually appears after a wet fall and keeps patches of grass from greening up in the spring. It can be treated with a lawn fungicide. If you leave it untreated it will not go away but get worse. >>Watch |
Companion Planting
Gardening expert Tonya Ashworth talks about companion planting in the garden. Companion planting is when you plant two or more crops together to try to influence pest pressure, increase yield, or gain some other benefit. A classic companion planting from the Native Americans is called the “three sisters,” corn, green beans and squash were grown together. The corn provided a place for the beans to climb, The beans provided nitrogen to the corn and the squash kept out the racoons and provided shade and weed suppression. In the 1960s and 1970s there were many lists of companion plantings circulated. Most of these have been debunked by scientific study. There were a few companion plantings however that have proven to work: Basil and tomatoes, potatoes and beans, onions and carrots, among others.
Marigolds are also often planted ward off insects. Marigolds can be effective against soil nematodes but not in the same season. If you have nematode problem plant the marigolds and then wait a few seasons. Marigolds can also reduce insect pressure but it is not always beneficial to yields. For example, marigolds will reduce the number of Mexican bean beetles on beans but will also reduce yield. One way to benefit from a companion planting situation is to plant a polyculture – plant of many varieties close together. This confuses the insects and they may not be able to find their favorite host plant among all the different smells from the plants. Another idea is to plant a group of plants near your garden to host beneficial insects. This way when harmful insects invade your garden they will be nearby. >>Watch |
Hostas
Hosta expert Jim Crowder from Memphis Botanic Garden talks about basic hosta care and shows a few varieties. All hostas prefer shade. They can also tolerate extremely dry shade. They can be planted next to a large tree - that would out-compete many other plants - and do well.
There are a lot of variation in hostas. Some are small, others large. There are a wide range of leaf colors and flower colors. There are over 4000 named cultivars of hostas. Jim shows some of his favorite cultivars. Many hostas sport unique-to-the-plant features like white leaves or unique variegation patterns. One of the biggest problems with hostas is voles. They will tunnel under mulch or travel in unused mole tunnels and devour the roots and crown of hostas. Voles don’t like to be in the open so avoid using mulch. Hostas are relatively disease free. A few years ago there was a disease called virus X that caused changes to the plant like corrugated leaves or streaks or ripples in color of the leaves. Virus X is only transmitted by man. A hosta that is infected can be removed and a new hosta planted in its place without transmitting the disease. Hostas grow and spread by growing pups. Some hosta varieties do not pup quickly. You can encourage this by rossizing the hosta. >>Watch |
Spring Soil Preparation
Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison talks about getting your garden soil ready for planting. The best way to start your soil prep is to get a soil test. This is best done in the fall to give any needed lime a chance to change the soil pH. If it is spring, get the test and put out the lime. It will take a few months to take effect but will change the pH over the season. The soil test also tells you how much fertilizer you need.
Remove vegetation from the area you are going to plant. You can do this with a rototiller, chemicals, a shovel, etc. Don’t work the soil when it is too wet because it will form clods that will stay through the growing season. If you would like to get an early start on your garden create 6-8-inch ridges in the fall. These ridges will dry out and warm up faster than flat ground. There is an online national soil survey and you can find out what kind of soil you have in your garden for free. This will help you know if your soil is sandy or has lots of clay and the percolation rate of the soil. You need drainage in your garden. If water is standing in your garden you need to create a way for it to drain, dig a ditch. >>Watch |
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Viewer Questions
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How do I get root knot nematodes out of my garden?
The best way to remove sooty mold is with a soft brush and some dish detergent, just scrub it off. You can use a pressure washer, but you need to turn the pressure all the way down and make sure you don’t damage the bark. Sooty mold is the symptom of a problem, if you just wash it off it will come back. The sooty mold is growing on honeydew which is created by scales or aphids that are feeding on the crape myrtle. Treat this problem and the sooty mole will go away on its own. >>Watch
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How do I control the hibiscus scentless plant bug on my rose of Sharron?
The hibiscus scentless plant bug only feeds on the seeds in old seed pods. UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper says it does not do any damage to the living parts of the plant. Because it does not harm the plant you should not spray. In fact, pesticides are not labeled for use on the bugs because they have never been tested on them because they don’t need controlled. To control the bugs, clean up all the littler around the tree and change out any mulch under the tree. >>Watch
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Jim Crowder from Memphis Botanic Garden identifies it as Quince. It is an early spring bloomer with many colorful flowers. There are several flower colors available and even one cultivar that has three flower colors at the same time. Some quince plants produce the quince apple, but most newer varieties do not. Quince has many thorns. It needs selective pruning to maximize growth and flowers. >>Watch
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