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Questions and Answers:Q. I have a volunteer sunflower that has come up in my garden. Instead of one flower head, like I used to see in Kansas, this one has 17 or more flowers. Is that unusual? A. There are many types of sunflowers and they come in all sizes. Some bred for the cut flower industry are red, orange and even peach colored with multi-branches. The one you are describing is different from the large seed bearing types grown for food and oil in Kansas. Sunflowers are an important source of food for wildlife and they attract beneficial insects. If you plant them, they are best placed at the back of the garden as they can become ragged before the seeds become ripe. Some types grow short so they can be planted as a border, but the bugs will beat them up once the weather gets warm. Sunflowers like rich soil and appreciate a foliar feeding of a liquid fertilizer every week from the time they sprout until they are knee high. That will give them a good start and help produce the biggest seed heads. Q. How can I see past copies of your articles? A. All old articles are now posted here at this website. All new ones are posted as soon as they are available. Q. Can Parvo be eliminated from the soil in my yard? I have a puppy that came down with the disease recently and I would like to get rid of it around my vegetable garden. A. Parvo is a disease that affects puppies and adult dogs with immune problems. It can live in the soil for years and it is widely accepted that it can be anywhere at anytime. Talk to your vet about sanitation procedures and whether your entire yard should be disinfected. By all means, get your pups vaccinated and stay on the vaccination schedule. That is your best protection against this dreadful disease. Q. I’m thinking about buffalo grass in my yard to replace my dying turf grass. Any thoughts? A. Buffalo grass is a bunch grass like our native bluestem or bahia. It grows from a bunch at the soil surface so it will not spread like Bermuda or St. Augustine. Therefore, you will need to overseed areas for good coverage. The good part is that it doesn’t get very high and you will never have to mow it plus it is drought tolerant. Mature height is about 12 inches when fully grown and that may be too high for some. Trying to mow a bunch grass is not as easy as mowing turf and you won‘t have that smooth golf course look. The seed is expensive, but a search on-line revealed several sources of seed you can get by the pound. I always encourage everyone to plant more native grasses because the wildlife can really use it for shelter and food and they are beautiful in the fall. Q. I just moved to the country outside of Rockdale from the Northeast and I feel like I’m in a horror movie because of all the snakes. Is there such a thing as a snake repellant available? A. The first thing all newcomers must learn is what is a beneficial snake and what is a poisonous snake so you won‘t feel outnumbered. Remove all debris from around dwellings. Snakes love damp cardboard boxes more than anything. Close up holes around the house where they can over winter. Snakes are more visible when the days are cool. They are nocturnal once it gets really hot. Wear gloves and boots while doing any outdoor work. Snake repellants are available but don’t always work. Click Here to Ask Me a Gardening Question
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