Ask An Expert
Need information? Send your question to Cheryl Moore-Gough, Zone 4's Technical Editor for Horticulture. Cheryl is a past Extension Specialist—Horticulture for the State of Montana, and co-authored five books on gardening with her late husband, Dr. Robert Gough.
Send your questions to Cheryl or mail to the address on our contact page. Please include your city and state, as they may have a bearing on Cheryl's answer.
Amending Soil With Blood Meal
Last summer we installed a 16' x 28' greenhouse. We added topsoil on the crushed granite. It did well considering the late start and I'm learning a lot about greenhouse gardening. I just had the soil tested (MSE in Butte) and the pH is 7.6; lbs/acre = N:22.4, P:886, K:2160. So they recommended N at the rate of 2 lbs/1,000 square feet. My two questions are: should I add 1 pound of blood meal and can/should I till it into the soil?
As you know, analyses of fertilizers vary a bit by manufacturer and I do not know what the nitrogen content is of your particular brand of blood meal. If it is 12%, then you will need to apply about 16 pounds of it per 1000 square feet of soil surface area for the approximate equivalency of 2 pounds of nitrogen over that area. Don't till but rather scratch the meal into the top few inches of soil before planting.
Step Up Leeks
I planted my leeks, onions, and celery seeds on March 5. The onions and leeks are about 3-4+ inches tall now. Would now be a good time to step them up into larger planters? Since they don't grow leaves, it's hard for me to judge when to transplant them.
I suggest you wait a week or two more before stepping up the plants. Be advised that onions and leeks don't take real kindly to transplanting, so be careful not to damage their root systems too much. If you do find the plants getting a bit too tall cut the tops back about half way with a scissors. That will promote stockiness in the plants and keep the tops inbounds. Some folks don't step up onions and leeks at all but grow them in their original clumps, then carefully separate the individual plants just before transplanting to the garden by dipping the clumps in water to loosen the media.
Red Ants
Are red ants harmful to our vegetable garden? How can you get rid of them?
Your question should rightfully be posed to an entomologist, but from personal experience I have not seen red ants eating crops. Rather, their tunneling can sometimes disturb seedling roots and seeds and so they could cause some damage. One non-pesticidal way to get rid of them is to pour boiling water onto their nest, provided it is located well away from your plants. Good luck.
Sweet Corn
My sweet corn is currently tasselling but I don't see any immature ears of corn or silks on the stalks. Why does that happen? I have also planted some later varieties that are not tasselling yet and I'm hoping that there is some way to prevent this from happening to them.
Tasseling (development of the tassels) is a gradual process that takes place over a few weeks, going from tassel formation in the whorl, to tassel emergence, to pollen ripening and shedding (anthesis); I am not sure what stage your tassels are in. Tassels will often appear at some stage of development before the silks show, but by the time the pollen sheds (when a slight brush at the tassel releases dense clouds of yellow pollen) the ears should be in silk. The silk will then receive the pollen, fertilization will take place, and the ears proper will develop. It sounds like you've planted a mid-season to late-season corn that is just beginning to tassel. Wait. If the season cooperates you still might get some great corn. I suggest that next year you try some earlier-ripening varieties like 'Northern Extra Sweet' (67 days), 'Quickie' (57 days), and 'Revelation' (65 days). You will have to see what works best for you.
Mushy Tomatoes
I have very healthy looking tomatoes plants with beautiful looking fruit but when you bite into one—it is mushy! What is causing this and can I remedy this problem? It is a HUGE disappointment. I have grown tomatoes for years and never experienced this problem.
Thanks for your note describing a very difficult problem to diagnose. To have "mushy" fruit that have no signs of disease, with no disease symptoms on their plants, is a real mystery. Nearly all tomato diseases result in spots, discoloration, or other fruit and plant deformities that are diagnostic. You do not comment on the fruit taste (sour, etc.) so I assume the taste is normal, which leads to even further mystery. Without actually seeing the fruit or getting more descriptive information I can come up only with a possible potassium deficiency or a problem called "puffiness" (not quite the same as "mushiness"). However, with potassium deficiency the leaflets should show marginal scorching and interveinal chlorosis as well as fruit softening; you mention no such symptoms.
Puffiness is a physiological disorder that results in irregular fruit shape and empty locules (hollow seed cavities). When the fruit are only slightly affected you won't detect the problem until after harvest. Severely affected fruit appear flat-sided and angular, and when they are cut you'll see open cavities between the seed gel area and the outer wall. Fruit will be very lightweight relative to their size. The problem is caused by any factor that affects fruit set, including inadequate pollination, fertilization, and seed development and is most commonly caused by too low or too high temperatures during fruit set. Temperatures lower than about 65°F and higher than about 86°F can be problematic. Other factors such as high nitrogen, low light (is your garden in the shade?), or rainy conditions can cause puffiness as well.
So, without more information I can't be of much more help. I do suggest you take a hard look at the plants to see if there are any other symptoms (foliar discoloration, slight wilting, fruit spots, etc.). Have you planted this variety of tomato before? (What is the variety?) Is there any off-flavor or discoloration to the fruit, however slight? Do the fruit ripen unusually early? Did you apply any material to your garden this year that you did not in previous years? Are the fruit cavities well filled with seeds? Even the slightest information could help provide a diagnosis for your problem. Good luck.
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