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September - 2009 Questions &Answers Compiled by David Rodriguez County Extension Agent-Horticulture Bexar County

Special thanks to Forrest W. Appleton and volunteers of the "Master Gardener Hotline" in support of the weekly gardening questions and answers.

Question:
My cucumbers grow to about one inch long, and then turn brown and die. What is the problem?
Answer:
It takes two to tango. This in all likelihood means that there are no male flowers on the vine. If you can keep them alive in this weather, hopefully they will begin to have both male and female flowers on the plants open at the same time for the bees to pollinate the female flowers and then the cucumbers will grow.

Question:
While living in Thailand, we noticed a large fan shaped palm tree that we quite liked. It consisted of a multiple large leaves that fanned out evenly from the base but grew quite tall. The tree and leaves were very flat and not rounded at all. I don't know the name of it but wonder it is available here in the US.
Answer:
As best I can determine this is the Traveler's Palm, Ravenala madagascariensis. It is not suited for the San Antonio area as it is tropical (not withstanding any frosts or freezes) and would not like our dry, alkaline soils.

Question:
I read the 'Texas Lilac', Vitex agnus-castus should be cut to the ground in late winter. Is this true?
Answer:
The manner of growing Vitex is promoted so that those who desire repeat blooms can reach the old, spent blossoms and clip them off, thus stimulating more. It is not necessary if you desire the plant to grow into tree form rather than as a multi-trunk shrub.

Question:
We want to plant fall peas - zipper, cream, etc., and our question is about fertilizer. When, what strength, etc?
Answer:
Prior to planting incorporate (by tilling) about 2 pounds of 19-5-9 50% slow release nitrogen fertilizer per 100 square feet or 35 feet of row into the soil about 8 to 10 inches deep. Since peas have the ability to get nitrogen from the air as well as from the soil, no additional fertilization should be required.

Question:
Can you tell me what's wrong with my Bell Peppers? It looks like blossom end rot on tomatoes, only the brown spots are hard. What can I do to prevent this?
Answer:
Peppers, like tomatoes, are susceptible to the physiological disorder blossom end rot. The prevention is the same for both, a consistently moist soil. If you let them dry down too much, especially when the fruit is very small this will occur.

Question:
I planted a fairly large sago palm two months ago. Watered it until it rooted and it looked beautiful. Now, with the drought, I have been watering once a week and giving the sago ample water but not too much. The plant is turning yellow, do I need more or less water or some kind of fertilizer and which kind?
Answer:
Because of the extremely hot, dry weather we have had for the past two months, your sago has not had the opportunity to establish much of a root system. Stick your finger into the root ball near the trunk (in that piece of soil that came with it from wherever you got it) about two inches deep. If it feels dry, water it thoroughly and then do not water it again until it feels dry. If it feels wet, do not water it until it feels dry. No fertilizer.

Question:
Our crape myrtle has just gotten a pink bloom on it this week. In our neighborhood where there are many crape myrtles, they have been blooming pink for at least a month. Ours seems to be slow each year. What can/should we do?
Answer:
There are countless varieties of pink crape myrtles and each variety, even each crape myrtle, is an individual with its own genetic traits. On top of this, climatic conditions will cause the variation of the initiation of blossoms. There is really nothing that you can do to alter this short of the replacement with another tree. Ensuring that it is stress free (sufficient moisture and fertilizer) will allow it to bloom on a more regular basis.

Question:
I have beautiful oaks in my yard but no grass out to the edge of the branches. Why won't the grass grow? It looks like a force field exists, preventing the grass from moving toward the tree trunk. Is it possible to get grass to grow?
Answer:
The main reason that grass will not grow under the oak trees is the shade that they provide as well as root competition. St. Augustine grass is the most shade tolerant of the turfgrasses that are appropriate for your area but it will not grow under such shade. Also the oak trees are going to get the majority of the available moisture. The only way to get grass to grow there is to increase the amount of sunlight that reaches the ground. This can be done by a professional tree care company by thinning and lifting the canopy of the trees.

Question:
I have 3 jalapeno plants. They look beautiful but they haven't produced fruit because of the heat. My question is, is it fruitless (pun intended) to keep watering them in hopes of getting peppers when the weather cools down, or should I just try again next year?
Answer:
If you can keep the plants alive, pest free and healthy, they will again set fruit when the night and day temperature cool down some.

Question:
A question about lily pads, can you eat them? Can you suggest a place or site that can answer this question?
Answer:
It has been said that you can eat anything that you can chew. However, even it I knew that the leaves of the Nymphaea species were not toxic; I would not tell you that you could or should eat them as plants affect many people differently. I do not know that they are non-toxic and I certainly would not eat them. The question is, why would you want to eat them?

Question:
I planted what I thought would be drought-tolerant plants on the west side of our house -- coreopsis, Mt. Laurel, verbena, lambs ear, Indian blanket, yarrow, plumbago and sage. We haven't had measurable rain in over 2 months. I've been watering every-other morning but by the end of the next day, most of the plants are drooping a lot. It seems they are just barely surviving. Yet I bought them so I would NOT have to water so often! Should I continue my schedule or water less often and allow the "fittest" to survive?
Answer:
Until those plants get roots established out into the surrounding soil, they are living in their original root ball. That small amount of soil has its moisture diminished quickly in the kind of record breaking heat we have been having. Also the lack of rainfall has the surrounding soil very dry so that roots have trouble growing out into it. You will have to continue watering or none of them will survive. This is why we recommend that 'Fall is for Planting'.

Question:
When should garlic be planted?
Answer:
Garlic is best planted in late September through October for Central and South Texas home gardens and will be ready to harvest in late May through June.

Question:
Is garlic planted by using seed?
Answer:
Most garlic is planted from planting vegetative plant parts called cloves which are small bulblets. However, cloves are typically referred to as 'seed pieces' or 'sets.'

Question:
How will I know when garlic is ready to harvest?
Answer:
Garlic is mature and ready to harvest when the flower cluster begins to deteriorate and the plant begins to turn yellow.

Question:
After harvest, my garlic quite often deteriorates before I can use it. How can I prevent this?
Answer:
Dry garlic thoroughly after it is harvested and hang it up in a well ventilated area to prevent rot. Do not expose it to extreme high or low temperatures after harvest. Garlic prefers being stored at a room temperature of around 75 degrees F.

Question:
What are garlic onions?
Answer:
When gardeners plant garlic cloves, the following year the clove will produce a single-clove plant. The single clove, which resembles an onion but tastes like garlic, is often referred to as a garlic onion. This phenomenon results from planting an immature garlic clove. If the garlic onion is planted the following fall, it will produce normal multi-cloved garlic.

Question:
Last spring, when I harvested my garlic, I discovered small, very hard structures on the base of the normal cloves. Some of these hard structures remained in the soil when I pulled the garlic. Will these structures produce garlic?
Answer:
The structure, which you describe, will produce garlic cloves, but the process will take two years. If you plant these now, a normal looking garlic plant will be produced, but the bulb harvested next spring will not be segmented into cloves as regular garlic is. Because of this, many gardeners think that they have produced an onion from a garlic section. If this onion-like garlic is planted the next October, it will form regular segmented garlic the following spring. The "volunteer" garlic, which comes up in everyone's garden after harvest has occurred, is a result of these "satellite" structures.

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