FAYETTEVILLE — Question: When should I pick ornamental gourds?
Answer: Ornamental gourds should be picked after the vines die but before a freeze. Wipe the gourds with a cloth dipped in a solution of one percent bleach to water.
The stems should be left on. After the gourds are completely dry, they can be waxed with ordinary paste wax and polished lightly. They can also be shellacked or painted.
Question: I have a cherry tree that has sunken lesions that ooze sap.
Amber colored, soursmelling gum oozes from these lesions. What shall I do for it?
Answer: There is a plant disease called bacterial gummosis or bacterial blast. It attacks fruit and nut trees but especially cherry trees. It is most serious on young trees but especially cherry trees. Bacterial canker gummosis is difficult to control. Prune out diseased branches. After each cut, sterilize pruning shears with alcohol. In the fall, spray with a fungicide containing basic copper sulfate.
Question: Our oak tree has round balls on some of the leaves. Should we have them removed?
Answer: The round balls that you see are galls, several hundred different species of wasps, aphids, adelgids, midges, and the list goes on of insects that like to lay their eggs forming a ball.
Oak trees are the favorite place for them to lay their eggs which form around soft tissue of a leaf.
To reduce their number, gather and destroy the fallen leaves which we will see abundant soon.
Question: Can rice hulls be used as a mulch around tomatoes?
Answer: Rice hulls make a good mulch around almost any plants.
Make sure the plant itself is not buried under the mulch.
Question: The roots of my iris are coming up from the ground. Should I mulch them?
Answer: Your iris plants are telling you that they are too crowded and it's time to dig them up, divide and replant or give some away.
Question: How can I keep squirrels from eating my tomatoes?
Answer: Try spraying hot pepper around the bottom of your tomato plants. You can also spray hot pepper right on your tomatoes. Just be sure to wash the spray off before you eat the tomatoes.
Tip: To prolong the life of cut roses, add 2 ounces of Listerine to a vase of water to extend their life.
Listerine contains sucrose which is food for the flowers and a bactericide. It's acidity promotes quicker uptake of water by the stems. For what more could a cut rose ask?
Send your gardening and landscaping questions and tips to Washington County Master Gardeners, 2536 N. McConnell Ave., Fayetteville AR 72704. You may also call 444-1755 for answers to your questions.
Living, Pages 14 on 09/27/2009