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Questions and Answers:Q. A few weeks ago you wrote about a potato fertilizer and I was unclear on the numbers on the label as well as where I could purchase the fertilizer. Can you clarify? A. I wrote that the potato fertilizer should have the numbers listed in a way that the middle number was highest because potatoes grow well in soil enriched with phosphorous. I like the 10-20-10 Onion Special Fertilizer available from Dixondale farms at 877-367-1015 or www.dixondalefarms.com. A 1-2-1 fertilizer or 5-10-5 would be the same ratio. You can also supplement the soil with rock phosphate, triple phosphate or bone meal. It’s important to have your soil tested every year if you are planting in the same place because phosphorous levels can become toxic over time as they build up in the soil. I plant potatoes in a different place each year because it’s a great way to start a new bed. Phosphorous levels can’t build up and after harvest I have a nice row of loose soil. All I have to do is fertilize, mulch and add irrigation and it’s ready to plant for the summer. Q. Help? Snails are back in my garden again. A. If you had trouble with snails last year, be sure to look under and around potted plants and items left in the garden over the winter. Snails are probably hiding there waiting for warm weather. Simply smash the ones you find. If you find one you will find several others in the same place. When shopping for new plants look carefully for snails in the pots. For organic control, try a product called “Sluggo.“ It degrades into a fertilizer and is safe around pets and children. Q. What are good Texas plants for Fall color? A. Look for Mexican Mint Marigold, Mexican Sage, Copper Canyon Daisy and Texas Aster. Try getting some broom corn seeds and throwing them in the back of the garden. Broom corn has a seed plume as high as 12 feet and the birds love them. They turn a gold or red color in the fall. They can be cut and brought inside for fall decorating as they dry well. Q. I cannot seem to produce enough compost for my garden. Could buying from a local source be less expensive than making it myself? A. Compost piles that are located outside don’t do much during the cooler weather. You can supplement your compost by buying locally. This added compost is already active and adding it to your compost pile will get the compost cooking well for the spring. This also gives you a chance to buy locally. Never compromise your mulch budget, it's a garden item you can never have enough of. Q. What is your favorite butterfly and hummingbird plants? A. I like Gregg’s Mist Flower because it is easy to propagate and comes back every year. Red blooming salvias as well as the Indigo Spires salvia are also great choices. But my absolute favorite for ease of care and cultivation is the Zinnia. Seeds are cheap and it reseeds freely most years. Butterflies love them. However, butterflies don’t lay eggs on zinnias. If you want the best all around butterfly plant for watching and feeding butterfly larvae, that would be fennel, dill or passion vine. The butterfly larvae may eat these plants to the ground but they will all recover, except for dill, as it is a cool season annual. Q. Is there such a thing as a coleus that will live in full sun? A. It’s hard to believe, but the folks that develop new plants have come up with the “sun coleus” that works well in a sunny area. They come in a dark purple and several shades of red. The can become leggy late in the season and should be trimmed back. They are not perennial, but you can take cuttings, root them in the fall, and over winter in pots in a bright warm area. Q. I’ve heard about thinning peaches and apples to get better quality fruit. Any thoughts? A. If you are lucky enough to have an overabundance of fruit on your trees, begin to thin when the fruits are marble size. Thin peaches 4-6 inches apart and apples and pears to two fruit per cluster. Q. There are some green and yellow spotted and striped beetles on my greens. They are ruining my mustard greens and leaving holes in everything else. Do you know what this pest is and how to control it? A. It is the cucumber beetle or the potato beetle. It seems they both do a lot of damage on any vegetable with leaves. Use Spinosad or Bt Kurstaki for control. Both are approved for organic gardens. They shouldn’t affect your lady bug population. Spinosad also works well to control bag worms on junipers and evergreens. For bagworm control start spraying on a weekly schedule from the end of April to the middle of June. Q. What is Bt? Where would one purchase Bt and/or Spinosad? Other than the homemade insecticidal soap, is there a homemade version of Bt or Spinosad? A. Both Bt and spinosad are naturally occurring bacteria that kill worms and beetles by shutting down their digestive system. They are available anywhere organic pest control products are found. There is not a recipe for a homemade version of either of these products.
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