Plants are the lens Jessie views the world through because they’re all-sustaining. (“They feed, clothe, house and heal us. They produce the air we breathe and even make us smell pretty.”) She’s a garden writer and photographer with degrees in both horticulture and plant biology from Purdue and Michigan State Universities. Her degrees were bolstered by internships at Longwood Gardens and the American Horticultural Society. She has since worked for many horticultural institutions and companies and now manages communications for Sun Gro Horticulture, the parent company of Black Gold. Her joy is sharing all things green and lovely with her two daughters.
“I’ve heard a lot about the “three sisters” planting method. What exactly is this?” Question from John of Gatewood, Missouri
Answer: The Three Sisters Garden was a classic Native American planting method that included corn, beans, and squash; the staple crops for agrarian tribes. Basically, the squash and beans were planted at the base of the corn plants. As the corn grew, the stalks supported the twining beans and squash. Click here to read a great Black Gold article all about Three Sisters Gardening. It will tell you everything you need to know about three sisters planting!
Amending clay soil with lots of organic matter yearly will turn it around! (Image by Jessie Keith).
“I have hard clay soil. I have been adding one plant at at time and even that is hard digging holes large enough to amend soil around roots. But now I want to start a large bed by putting down cardboard, putting a bed border around it, and using everything in our mulch pile to cover the cardboard and leave over winter. Would this help or is there a better way?” Question from Erin of Kirkwood, Missouri.
Answer: I used to live in the Midwest, and hardpan clay soils are the worst. Covering bad soil won’t help your plants or the soil down below. Plants grow and resist drought best when their roots can grow deeply, which means either transforming your clay bed or building raised beds. If you want to transform your bed, here’s what I suggest.
Dig Deeply and Amend Like Crazy: Wait until the soil is lightly moist (not wet), and dig deeply into your bed bit by bit, putting portions of the clay soil in a wheel barrow. Then add loads of organic matter into the dug area–compost, leaf mulch, peat moss, earthworm castings, etc. (Check out Black Gold’s amendments.) Then slowly mix your clay soil back in. If you have a small tiller to really work it in and blend it well, that would be best. Continue to add lots of organic matter over several seasons, and your soil will be wonderful.
I also recommend taking all of your leaves at the end of the season, chopping them up, and laying them thickly over your bed like mulch. Once springtime comes they will have begun to break down and feed the soil. Using compost instead of bark mulch will also give your soil more enrichment.
The blossoms of happy tomato plants are strong-stemmed and vigorous.
“I have a very healthy tomato plant that will only produce a few tomatoes. The blossoms fall of rather than setting. Thank you.” Question from Ron from Cashmere, Washington.
Answer: There are loads of reasons a seemingly healthy tomato might drop blossoms and most of them are either environmental or physiological. Here are some likely possibilities considering your Pacific Northwest location and the fact that your plant appears to be otherwise healthy.
Fertilizer regime: Excess nitrogen in the soil will result in glorious looking plants that bear little to no fruit. Choosing a fertilizer developed to encourage tomato fruiting is essential for good crops.
Insufficient Light: Tomatoes need at least 6 hours of full sun a day for good flower and fruit set. More is better.
Pests and diseases: Gray mold (Botrytis) can cause blossom drop as can some pests, but you would see the insects and fuzzy mold on the blossoms.
Temperature extremes: When day and night temperatures become too hot (daytime above 85 to 90 degrees F with little decrease at night) they can drop flowers. Likewise, when day and night temperatures become too cool (below 60 degrees F) they can drop flowers from stress. Choosing varieties resilient to temperature extremes can help.
Strong, drying winds: Wind stress will on occasion cause blossom drop.
Weather extremes: Weather that is consistently too dry or too wet can yield the same results.
Do any of these culprits seem like possibilities in your garden?
The western bleeding heart is one of several plants that will grow well beneath firs.
“What can I grow under several fir trees? Question from Karen of Portland, Oregon
Answer: Do you have Douglas firs on your property? (I love Doug firs!) Either way, I would recommend going with beautiful native understory plants from your region that can take the soil acidity, needle drop, and moist/dry conditions of life beneath fir trees in the Pacific Northwest.
Some attractive shrubby options include the evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum), which yields edible fruit and has attractive foliage. Wild specimens are very tall, but the cultivar ‘Scarlet Ovation‘ only reaches 3 feet high. Salal (Gaultheria shallon) is another attractive evergreen choice with high wildlife value.
Duckfoot (Vancouver hexandra) is a lovely, delicate perennial that spreads and bears small, white, drooping flowers. The western bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa) is pretty spring bloomer that will perform well under firs, and lots of varieties are available. I also recommend the sweet bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), a low spreader with white spring flowers followed by bright clusters of red fruits later in the season.
Male flowers have no little fruit at the base (top flowers) and female flowers do (bottom flower).
“Though I water and fertilize my squash plants well, a lot of the fruit seem to just shrivel up! What can I do?” Question from Kyra of White Salmon, Washington
Answer: Sorry to hear your squash crop isn’t cooperating! I would love to hear what squash you are growing and determine at what stage they are shriveling up. Are your squash little or well developed when they start to shrivel? Either way, there are two key reasons why squash fruits may not develop properly.
1. Lack of pollinators
Squash have two flower types, male and female, and these are strictly bee-pollinated. The male flowers are produced first, followed by the female blooms. If you see female blooms on your plants, and no bees, this could be the problem.
Without pollination, the developing fruits just shrivel. You can try a hand-pollinating method, if you think this is the problem. Simply use a small brush to move pollen from a newly opened male flower to a newly opened female flower. It’s fast, easy, and will yield squash!
2. Disease
Some fungal diseases and disorders will cause fruit to shrivel up at various stages of development. A picture may help me identify the cause, if you don’t think pollinators are your problem.
“How do you grow lemongrass?” Question from Scott of San Antonio, Florida
Answer: You have the perfect growing conditions for this subtropical to tropical herbal grass. It’s hardy to USDA Hardiness Zones 9-10, so it may even survive your winters. It’s very easy to grow and thrives in full sun, moist soil, and high heat. Check out the following video to learn more about growing and harvesting your own lemongrass.
Female flowers have small fruits at the base (left) and male flowers don’t (right).
“Why do I get a lot of flowers on cucumbers plants but no cucumbers?” Question from Margaret of Dade City, Florida
Answer: How annoying for you! Nothing is worse than having “happy” plants that don’t produce good fruit. If your plants get enough sun, water, and good vegetable fertilizer for fruiting, and they still aren’t producing, then several other factors could be keeping you cucumberless. Here are the top five most likely causes, followed by some suggestions to help you maximize future cucumber harvests!
Lack of pollinators: Most cucumbers have two flower types, male and female (image above), and these are strictly bee pollinated. The male flowers are produced first, followed by the female blooms. If you see female blooms on your plants, and no bees, this could be the problem.
Insecticides: If insecticide sprays or dusts are used around your plants, they could be killing your pollinators.
High Heat: Most cucumber varieties grow best in temperatures between 60 and 90 degrees F, and many stop producing when days exceed 95 degrees F are nights remain hot.
Timing: To avoid the high heat problem, Florida gardeners can start cucumbers in late summer for a fall and early winter crop of cukes.
Variety: Heat-resistant cucumber varieties are best for Florida growing, while heat-sensitive varieties are not recommended. You can also choose cucumbers that are self-fruitful, meaning pollinators are not required for fruit production.
For Florida growing, I would suggest growing the self-fruitful, heat-tolerant varieties ‘Diva’, ‘Beit Alpha’, or early-yielding, super heat-tolerant variety, ‘Thunder’. We also recommend you watch our video about cucumber growing (below)! It has lots of great growing tips to maximize your cucumber growing!
This healthy zucchini is near a beehive, so it has plenty of bees to pollinate the squash. (Image by Jessie Keith)
“Last year, lots of blossoms but no zucchini so I planted in a different space. So far, not even blossoms. I’ve never seen this before. Zucchini usually grows like weeds.”Question from Sharon in Washington
Answer: That’s an interesting problem…tell me more. There are lots of things that can cause zucchini or summer squash from producing, including lack of pollinators (bees pollinate the blossoms), excess hot days (above 95 degrees F) and hot nights (above 75 degrees F), too little light, improper fertilization, and even variety choice. Did you notice that last some of year’s flowers had blooms with little fruits at the base (female flowers) and blooms with no little fruits (male flowers)? If you noticed both flower types, then pollination failure could be the problem. In this case, choosing a self-fertile variety, like ‘Bush Baby’, will help. Do your plants get enough sun and did you amend and fertilize with a good vegetable fertilizer for fruiting? Or, did you experience an unusually hot summer? Let me know!
“How often [do I] apply liquid plant food?” Question from Nancy
Answer: When it comes to water-soluble plant food, the application frequency and concentration depends entirely on the product, formula (10-10-10 versus a 20-20-20 NPK) and crop. Please let us know what you are growing and product details! Also, when it comes to application guidelines, always refer to the instructions on the product label. Happy Gardening!
“What is the average pH range of your various gardening soils? I bought 2 varieties – the Waterhold, and the Natural & Organic Potting Mix + fertilizer.” Question from Michael of Scottsdale, Arizona.
Answer: Great question Michael! The right pH is essential for growing good potted crops and container specimens. That’s why Black Gold mixes are fortified with alkaline Dolomite Lime to naturally increase their pH to a target of 6.5–a close-to-neutral pH ideal for many garden plants. We then test our mixes to make sure their pH is within the correct range.
