Question:
I have two tomato plants growing in large pots. They're doing really well. In fact, you can almost watch them grow. But I'm a bit concerned because they are so very busy. Should I strip some of the growth off or let them continue?Answer:
- It is important for tomatoes to be bushy with lots of leaves. The foliage protects the ripening tomatoes from sunburn, so the leaves act as a type of sunblock.
- Sunburn is a tan/beige spot on the fruits' south and southwest side. But you can have too much of a good thing, so I'd thin the growth throughout the season.
- They'll become crowded and dense as the plant(s) mature, especially when using a tomato cage.
- Thinning lets in more light and increases air circulation throughout the plant, keeping the inside foliage from turning brown.
- Also, the dense foliage is a perfect hiding plant for the Tomato Hornworm. Hornworms on tomatoes are a problem from June through September.
- The Hornworm is the larva stage of a moth. The adult moth lays its eggs near the center of the plant.
- Its only purpose is to eat, which is does twenty/four seven until it gets very large and drops into the soil, which goes through another stage of metamorphosis and emerges as an adult moth.
- Signs of the Hornworms are holes in the leaves and black droppings on the ground.
- You control them with BT or Captain Jack Dead Bug Brew. Both of these insecticides are safe to use on edibles.
Question:
I have a Van cherry tree loaded with black Aphids. I'm ready to cut the thing down because it just worsens yearly. What can I do to get rid of these things?Answer:
- It's very predictable that Aphids will attack cherry trees and many other plants each spring.
- Aphids come in many different colors and reproduce without mating. The chemical in the new growth stimulates the rapid increase in the population. Hence they go from a few to lots in just a few days.
- The only true way to rid yourself of Aphids is not to have any of the host plants growing in your yard; however, this is not very practical.
- Aphids are very easy to control with a bit of due diligence. It's too late now to do much this year.
- Next March, as the new leaves are emerging, is the time to be on the lookout for Aphids. You need to check for the leaf curl every five to seven days.
- Once you see the first curly leaves, you spray the tree with Insecticidal Soap, pick off the curly and make a follow-up application a week later.
- You should be very successful in solving this problem. This will prevent the tree from looking as bad as it d