Q & A: Miscellaneous

Got a gardening question? Ask Susan! What follows are reader questions. Each time a new one comes in, I’ll add it to the top. To ask a question, drop me a note at Susan@susansinthegarden.com.

Q: What is going on with our maple trees that despite the cold temperatures, wind, snow, freezing rain, etc., the leaves are not
dropping off? MB

A: The simple explanation is that our weather essentially went from an extended period of summer weather (which was awfully nice) right into wintry weather at the beginning of November. Because of this, our deciduous trees and shrubs didn’t have a chance to go through their normal process of shedding their leaves, which normally occurs as early to mid-fall temperatures slowly decrease. The base of each leaf, where it attaches from its stem to the tree or shrub, has a layer specialized cells known as the abscission layer. As temperatures drop in the fall, they start to deteriorate, which means the leaves separate from the plant and drop to the ground. In the 40+ years I’ve lived in Spokane, I have never seen anything like what we’re experiencing now! And it’s all because we didn’t go through that normal transition period (a.k.a. autumn) between summer and winter. We have lost a lot of branches from our hawthorn tree and other trees, as well as from the shrubs. It’s so frustrating and discouraging. And our fruit trees are completely covered leaves! I keep thinking that now that the weather is slightly milder, they’ll all get down to business and drop their leaves. To be honest, I really don’t know what to expect when spring gets here, but I sure hope the old leaves will have dropped by then.

Q: Where can I find the design and the build out of your hoop house? RS

A: My husband Bill designed it and we built it together, way back in 2014. I documented the supply list and how we built it in a blog post. There’s even a video that shows the construction part of the project.

Q: My rhododendron needs help. It does not look good heading into fall and winter.
The leaves on my rhody are green but they are are curled lengthwise as though the plant is dry. the plant is not dry.  The plant is south facing under a large maple tree. I am not sure what is going on. My other nearby rhody is looking very healthy. BB

A: I’m not sure where you live but one of the main reasons rhododendron leaves curl is drought conditions. So if you are in the PNW region like I am, or in another part of the country where you’ve experienced heat and drought, that is likely the cause. I would recommend making sure it’s well-watered going into the winter and hopefully it will bounce back by next spring.

Q: I’m a first year raised bed gardener and wondering how to best leave them in the best condition to over winter.  Compost, mulch, cover, dirt higher in center that on edges?  Seeing lots of suggestion but know who is the best to give good advice! E, Spokane

 
A: Whenever I have bare beds starting in mid- to late summer (i.e., a crop has been harvested and I don’t plan to plant more veggies in its place), I plant cover crops such as buckwheat, winter peas and/or rye. These will grow and later decompose over the winter, thus returning a lot of nutrients to the soil. Unfortunately, it’s too late for you to plant cover crops. For the remainder of the beds, I like to add 1-2″ of compost to the top of each bed. You don’t need to work it into the soil because the nutrients will filter down into the soil all on their own. Other options would be to cover the surface of each bed with a thick mulch. This could be grass clippings from an untreated lawn (no herbicides such as Weed ‘n Feed) or shredded leaves. 
You mentioned about adding soil to beds: if you’ve found that the soil has really compacted down, it’s a good idea to add additional soil if that is an option. And you can do that now or in very early spring (but now is preferable). If you have to leave the beds bare over the winter months, that is perfectly OK. Sometimes we just don’t have time in the fall to get around to these things. I would definitely not cover the beds because you want them to get the benefit of moisture from rain and snow.
 
Q: I live in zone 5 just north of you in Canada. This week we are going to have very warm weather.  Too warm for tulip planting I’m guessing; about 74° f in the daytime and about 44° f at night. I’ve already purchased my bulbs; 500 of them! They are in my refrigerator but I’m very anxious to get them planted. Can you recommend the warmest outdoor temperature that I can safely plant my tulip bulbs and not lose them?  SG, Canada
 
A: I don’t know when your ground usually freezes but you certainly want to plant your 500 (!!) tulip bulbs before then. I don’t see why you couldn’t start planting them, maybe wait until we’re officially into the month of October but they should be fine.

Q: I’m having no luck finding a source of tulle netting (to keep insects away from cabbage family crops) that is wide enough to cover raised beds that are 4 feet wide, which is how all mine are built.  The widest I’ve been able to locate is 54 inches.  Do you have a source you can share without a lot of difficulty?  Thank you for your help and your wonderful website!! HY

A: You might need to order the tulle online to find wider widths. For example, I just found this: https://www.tulleshop.com/products/white-108-inch-tulle-fabric-bolt-50-yards. Amazon offers a lot of deals on it, too. I did a search on “tulle 108″ wide” to find these sources (and more). It might be more quantity than you want but the bolt prices are very good. No matter what you’re looking at, try to look at photos showing how small the holes are (important). You could probably go with any color you want but I usually buy white or ivory.

Q: I live in Hayden Idaho and have 5 acres. I have started the hardscape of my garden with fencing and have dug a pond which will hopefully be completed this spring after the snow melts. My question for you is how do you protect new plantings from deer? The deer in my area are ravenous. If they don’t eat it they pull it out of the ground. Everything thing from fruit trees to marigolds.  This winter they chewed the stems on my new Japanese maple. Do you have any suggestions? SV

A: Deer can be such a frustrating problem for gardeners. I shot a video on all sorts of strategies for dealing with deer. It might give you some new ideas. Here’s a link to it: Dealing with Deer.

Q: I am looking to plant a tree in my front yard. A mid-sized canopy, color in the fall, small leaf if possible or not. Could you please recommend a tree for my zone 6 yard? DK

A: Here are some suggestions: ‘Kwanzan’ ornamental cherry tree, Japanese Stewartia, or ‘Prairie Fire’ flowering crabapple.

Q: Susan,  I read that  we should give our plants an inch of water  per week.  I even bought a rain measure so that I can know how much rainfall  the garden is getting.  But how do I measure giving the plants an inch when I am standing over them with a hose?  what exactly is an inch of water for plants?  I look forward to your answer, I am sure others are mystified by this advice as well. J.

A: Your question is a tricky one, especially since you are hand-watering. Not that there’s anything wrong with hand-watering in the least. But just to explain: if a gardener uses a sprinkler system, they could place an empty tuna (or cat food) can on the ground in that area before the sprinkler runs. Then while it’s running, they could monitor the amount of water in the can and see how long it takes for the can to reach 1″ of water. That would be more challenging to determine when watering by hand from a hose, though. To be honest, I don’t worry about trying to deliver an inch of water over the course of a week. That’s primarily because regions differ as far as the weather goes, and water moves through different types of soil at different rates. A better approach is to poke your finger down into the soil to about the 2nd joint and see if there is moisture in the soil to that depth. If it’s very damp, the plants are probably getting too much moisture. If, however, the soil is quite dry, then it’s important to increase the watering time. And the other component to this is to observe the appearance of the plants: do they look healthy and robust, or are they wilting? And if they’re wilting, is it because of too little or too much watering? (again, you would determine this by checking the soil moisture)

Q: Is there a rule of thumb about how deep the box of an insect hotel needs to be? I have a lot of bamboo, other vegetation, to use, but I don’t know how far into a space the insect has to go in order to nest safely. CH

A: The rule of thumb is about 6-8″ of depth for insect hotel compartments, as well as for bamboo sticks, mason bee tubes, branches, etc.

Q: I was wondering if you ever offer tours of your garden? AL

A: While I would love to say yes, my husband likes to keep our garden private. But you can see lots of it through my videos on my YouTube channel, which is the next best thing! https://www.youtube.com/c/susansinthegarden

Q: I have a question about drip irrigation. I’m putting in a system for the first time and am confused about whether to use drip tape or tubing for the actual water delivery. I’ve read that tape clogs less often, but only lasts for a season or two. What do you think? CM

A: We have used drip tape over the past few years and are considering switching to drip tubing. We’ve replaced one bed’s drip tape set-up with drip tubing in an effort to see which works better. I’m probably not being very helpful but we’re still experimenting, although my gut feeling is that the drip tape is not as efficient as tubing. I hope this helps. If you haven’t seen my video from last year on drip irrigation, here’s a link to it just so you can see our set-up.

Q: When repotting houseplants, can I use the same potting mix I get in large bags for outdoor pots? KF

A: Yes, absolutely you can! The only exception would be if you’re repotting cactus,  succulents or orchids, which need a dry, porous mix.

Q: We were looking to buy some compost to amend our soil and read your article, “Purchasing Compost” on your website. Unfortunately it seems like Home Fires Nursery has permanently closed… We were wondering if you have any other good local sources for compost and soil to add to our garden.

A: It is true that Home Fires Nursery has closed. However, the compost they were selling came from Barr-Tech which is still in business. On their website, they list all of the places you can purchase their compost: http://www.barr-tech.net/purchasing/. Hopefully there’s a location that works best for you.

Q: I wanted to ask your opinion on grow lights. My husband set up a grow room in our garage consisting of several 3-shelf units each with a 4 fluorescent bulb fixture with a mix of cool white and warm white bulbs. I was reading an article and it suggested using only cool white bulbs for growing microgreens, baby mixed salad greens, indoor lettuces etc. The article said that the warm light was more beneficial for plants that will flower and bloom. Would growing under cool lights instead of cool & warm lights be better for greens or is full spectrum lighting ok? DH

A: I really don’t think it matters all that much, especially since microgreens only live for a couple of weeks or so. We’ve been using regular shop lights that have fluorescent “grow-light” bulbs in them, and the microgreens grow just fine. I’m sure the set-up your husband put together (bless his heart!) will be just fine. While fluorescents have worked well for us over the past decade or more, now things are changing, technology-wise. There are a lot of LED grow lights available these days. However, we haven’t had a chance to do much research with them yet, so I’m afraid I’m not an expert on them.

Q: I just finished watching your microgreens video. I see your grow light is in your dining room so probably a warm room? My grow lights are in my unfinished basement which is cold (but not freezing) this time of year. What temperatures are required for the microgreens to thrive? HB

A: Most basements are about 50 degrees, which I think 
would be satisfactory for growing microgreens… esp. members of the 
Brassica family (such as broccoli, cabbage, kale, etc.) or peas or 
lettuces — all plants that are typically considered cool-season crops. 
I wouldn’t try basil because they are VERY picky about temperatures and 
would be very unhappy about being in the basement!

Q: I know you have answered this before because I remember reading it, but now I can’t find it. What camera brand/type/etc do you use? CO

A:  I have a Canon PowerShot SX50HS and it has been wonderful. I’ve had it a few years and Canon has since come out with new versions so keep an eye out for those.

Q: My husband and I have been watching your videos, oh boy we love your
garden no matter what season it is!!! We’re still working on ours, and
we would like to know how to face our garden beds. The garden is at
the back of our property facing North while our front of our house
faces South of course. How would you suggest we face our garden beds?
We’ve been reading about it, and seems every gardener has a different
theory, lol! Nora

A: I can completely understand your confusion because everyone has an opinion on this! I would say the most ideal orientation of the beds is north/south. That way, when the sun comes up in the east, there’s minimal shading of plants on the west side of the beds as the sun moves across the sky. I have to admit that our beds are oriented east/west! To be honest, we put in the beds so long ago (about 26 years ago) that we probably didn’t know any better and just liked that orientation. And there really hasn’t been a shading issue even with our beds oriented this way. But since you’re starting from scratch, it would be best to orient them north/south.

Q: We have a good place for a small garden and I have enjoyed it but the quality of our dirt isn’t great. Adding a bag or 2 of purchased compost potting soil has helped some but I want to put down a fair amount, to really enhance the garden soil.  When would you advise adding the compost, in the fall or the spring? RG

A: Fall is a great time to add compost to your soil. In general, you don’t really need to mix it into the soil but rather, just add 1-2″ to the top of your soil. That is much easier, right?

Q: I have some lilac root shoots that I would love to transplant to another spot in my garden.  Can this be done successfully now or do I wait for another time of the year… if at all? SC, Spokane

A: While I have never done this, my understanding is that lilac suckers are very easy to
transplant and the best time to do it is in the spring. Such a deal! Be sure to keep the transplant well-watered while they adjust to their new lives in another area of your garden.

Q: I recently saw the episode of Growing a Greener World, which featured your garden. I was impressed by its size and organization. How did you plan the layout of your garden? It seems overwhelming, the planning of it. I don’t mind the work, I just don’t want to do something and then have to change and start over. Do you find water your limiting factor on planning a large planting project? Thanks for input. BO

A: As I mentioned in our episode, we sat down with a sheet of paper, drew the location of the property lines, where our well and house are located, and then chose the sunniest location for our vegetable garden. We took into account the direction that the wind comes from (SW in our case) and anything we wanted to block from view with a stand of trees and native plants. Our biggest limiting factor, which you wisely mentioned at the end of your note, is water. Our well yields about 12 GPM so we have to be smart about what we plant and the amount of water we use. That meant choosing drought-tolerant and native plants, using drip irrigation for a fair amount of the watering, and being smart about how much water we use for lawn and flower bed areas. In the summer, our lawn and some areas of the yard tend to get a little “toasted” looking since we really try to avoid over-extending our water system. We also use mulches in both the veggie garden beds and flower/shrub beds, to conserve moisture as well as impede the growth of weeds. One other thing I might mention: if you are able, locate your vegetable garden (and maybe the orchard, too) away from your property lines. Both of ours are located along the eastern edge of our property. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but occasionally we have to worry about the use of sprays on neighboring properties, which is upsetting and frustrating. We grow everything organically, which we firmly believe in, but we have no control over what other neighbors do. I hope this is helpful. My main advice would be to plan ahead as best you can so that your future landscape is convenient to you and not overwhelming! And consider either going to a water-wise landscaping class (a lot of Master Gardener programs put them on) or reading up on the topic.

Q: Thanks for another fun (gutter pea) video and great ideas!  1) Regarding using the gutter for the peas… I thought that whenever you started seeds, you always had to have a hole in the bottom for drainage, yet I don’t think you mentioned anything about drilling holes in the bottom of the gutters. Were you just careful to not ever get them too wet? 2) You also mentioned that a viewer comment suggested weaving together your pea supports and that it was very helpful. How did you actually weave them together?  I really like their natural look. DM, Spokane

A: 1) While I do think drainage is very important, we didn’t feel (draining holes) were necessary for the gutters because a) the ends of the gutters were more or less open (just the piece of cardboard), b) we didn’t overwater them and c) the peas were only in the gutter for 10 days. 2) It’s hard to describe in writing how I wove the branches together, but each one alternated between being in front of one branch, then behind the next branch that it crossed, then in front of the next branch, and so on.

Q: I caught your show on P.B.S. where you were photographing birds and flowers.  Is there any chance that you could tell me what make of camera that you were using?  I’m in the market for a new camera and I too like to photograph birds around my home.  MH

A: I use a Canon Powershot SX50 HS, although they have since come out with a newer model, SX60, I think. My camera has amazing zoom! I should probably upgrade to a camera with an even better zoom, but this has been working well for me.

Q: I have been gardening in raised beds for the past 2 years. I’d love to know more about soil testing…I bought a kit from Gardens Alive last year and my kids and I tested our beds in the spring… not sure I did it right, but I tried to amend my soil appropriately. How do you test your soil and how often? Which kit do you recommend? R.N., Spokane

A: If your plants have been growing well over the past 2 years, and if you are amending the soil annually, you probably don’t need to test your soil. By amending it with organic materials such as compost, grass clippings from an untreated lawn (no weed-n-feed), or a small amount of chicken or rabbit manure, or shredded leaves, etc., you are helping rebuild the soil. You’ll notice I didn’t mention horse or steer manure above. That’s because there is a very persistent herbicide that doesn’t break down and it will wipe out your entire garden and contaminate your soil. So I recommend avoiding those 2 types of manures, just to be safe. Each type of vegetable crop that you grow has different nutritional needs, so they can deplete the soil of those nutrients over the course of a growing season. For example, leafy plants like lettuce, cabbage, spinach and broccoli, use a lot of nitrogen. Plants that bloom and set fruit (tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, etc.) need a lot of phosphorus. And root crops such as onions, turnips, beets, carrots and parsnips use both phosphorus and potassium. That’s why it’s important to amend your soil either at the end of the season or before the start of the new season. If your plants aren’t doing that well, then I would definitely recommend a soil test. I haven’t had enough experience with the different soil test kits available at garden centers, so I can’t really recommend a specific brand. But they will generally tell you how much nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are in your soil at the time of testing, and perhaps also the soil pH. Another option is to have a soil test performed. Another option is to have a soil test performed at a certified laboratory. Here in Washington State, there is one in Kennewick by the name of Northwest Agricultural Consultants.

Q: I saw your garden on “Growing a Greener World.” Lovely gardens! I was very impressed by the quality of photos shown on the episode. I’d like to know which camera you use. JW, VA.

A: I primarily use a Canon PowerShot SX50 HS, although there are newer versions of it available now (mine is about 4 years old). I really like the zoom it has, which is perfect for getting bird and wildlife photos from a distance. I do have a DSLR (Canon 50D), which I really should update as well, but I’ve been so happy with how simple the PowerShot is to use. I also like using my iPhone for flower and insect close-ups.

Q: I don’t understand what half strength dilution means referring to the
fish fertilizer.  Could you tell me how much to use per gallon of
water? OLR, Spokane

A: When I fertilize young seedlings with fish fertilizer, I like to use it half-strength to avoid burning or overfeeding them. This means using half as much fish fertilizer from what is recommended on the label. So, for example, they recommend 2 tbsp. of fish fertilizer to a gallon of water for vegetables, bedding plants, bulbs and annuals. That means I will use 1 tbsp. of fertilizer to a gallon of water.

Q: Can you tell me where we can purchase a copy of your book? 

A: Thank you for asking! There are several places where you should be able to locate Northwest Gardener’s Handbook: 1) at the Spokane County Master Gardener’s plant clinic, located at 222 N. Havana St. (just south of the Indians Ballpark). They are open 9-3 Mon-Thurs, 9-1 Fri and 9-12 Sat. Their phone number is (509) 477-2181; 2) at Auntie’s Bookstore downtown; 3) at Barnes & Noble (either Northtown or east of the Spokane Valley Mall) and 4) On Amazon.com.

Q: One problem we have with the garden is weeds. Frustrating the amount of weeds we have. Can you suggest a product that will decrease the amount of weeds. Is Preen a good one or is there something more effective. JK, Spokane

A: I completely understand your frustration with all of the weeds! If only our gardens grew as readily as they do. As much as I despise weeds, I don’t like using any chemicals in my garden because I don’t want to handle them and I worry about the impact they will have on the rest of the ecosystem within my garden. You might consider a few other options:

1. If the weeds appear in your pathways, you might try using a landscape mulch (also known as weed-block) covered by a few inches of bark. We did that in our vegetable garden and rarely get any weeds growing there.

2. Try mulching around your plants with things like grass clippings, compost, shredded leaves, or weed-free straw. The mulch will inhibit weed growth while helping the soil to retain moisture.

3. When weeding, try not to rake through the top few inches of soil as that will bring other weed seeds to the surface.

I did just notice that there’s now an organic version of Preen, but I don’t know how effective it is. Here’s a link to some information on it: http://www.preen.com/products/preen-vegetable-garden-weed-preventer. I was unable to find out what the active ingredient is.