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Garden Q & A – Page 2

Clover Attracts Ladybugs

Gardening Question from Olivia: Do you think Lady Bugs are attracted to clover? I am a landscape designer and landscaper. I have a client in Clairemont, California. I just finished her garden. She told me that her garden was overgrown and not taken care of for many years. (She just bought a foreclosure house.) She […]

Beach Front Plants for English Seacoast Gardens

Question from Katie: Hi Pat, just found your www site and saw it said, “Send a Q to Pat”, so, here goes… location: seaside, south-facing (in England: the sunny side), sheltered terrace.  Required: architectural, evergreen, “WOW!” plants that will tolerate minus 5 centigrade in winter, occasionally a little lower, but not “cold & wet” as […]

Vegetables, Eucalyptus, Clay Soil, and Fruit Trees

Question from Christian: I live in Del Mar near Fairbanks Ranch, and I’d like to get some of your thoughts on gardening and adding some new organic fruits, herbs, and vegetables to my house to feed us!  My goal is to turn a portion of my property into a full blown garden.  The challenges are […]

Drought-Resistant Gardening

Question: I heard you speak at the Fallbrook Garden Club. I ordered your most current book tonight. Which of your books (or is there a book that isn’t yours that you recommend?) would have the most information on drought-resistant plants for us in Fallbrook who don’t have much water? I assume succulents and cacti are […]

Birds & Tomato Cages

Question from Fred: We took your advice and have a number of Sweet 100 plants in large containers in our yard. Everything looks good except we now have a problem w/bird droppings on those plants w/tomato cages. What can we do to stop the birds from perching on the metal cages or, alternatively, from dropping […]

Carrot Germination by Boiling-Water Method

Question from Matt: I was fortunate enough to attend your presentation at the last SD Master Gardener Seminar. At that time, you suggested speeding up the germination period for carrots by pouring boiling water over the freshly-sown seeds. Although you said that boiled-water germination would likely occur within 3 days, I have not seen any […]

Fertilizing and Rain

Q. Can you give me some reasons that it’s not good to fertilize when it’s raining? A. Walking on heavy soil when it is wet can compact the soil, but other than that caveat what’s wrong with taking advantage of rainfall to fertilize with organic fertilizer all the things that need it now, like roses […]

Plant Illnesses

Question from Karen: I have three problems: I have a dwarf palm whose new leaves always have brown tips; I have a kumquat tree in a pot on my deck which has brown “stuff” dripping down the sides; I have a canary palm whose fronds have never “relaxed”. The fronds remain tightly together (if that […]

Chicken or Horse Manure

Q. I’ve heard you talk about the benefits of horse manure.What is your opinion of using chicken instead of horse manure? I was told recently chicken is stronger than horse. A. Chicken manure is superior to horse manure but needs longer aging and less is applied. Well-aged chicken manure makes an excellent vegetable fertilizer, especially since […]

Honeysuckle Dying

Gardening Question Purchased a ‘mint crisp’ honeysuckle in a 1 gal pot; transplanted to a larger planter (hoping to move so I’m trying not to actually plant it). Was doing just fine and growing but has started to have sections where its starting to die. Leaves started to get limp (checked and moisture level was […]