Q. As you suggested in The News Tribune in February, instead of spraying my apple tree for apple maggot this year, I ordered and used nematodes. What a beautiful LOOKING crop of apples I have, but have not been able to salvage even one apple from the apple maggot (compared to only 5 apples infected…
Category: Northwest U.S. Gardeners
Gardening questions from WA, OR, ID, MT & WY
Coffee Grounds and Rhodie disease
Q. Dear Peter, 1. the local Starbucks store saves coffee grounds for gardeners like us. I know that Blueberries and Roses like acidic soil. What other fruits, vegetables and flowers thrive in soil made acidic with coffee grounds? 2. One of our Rhodies died due to a disease of some sort. Is it a bad…
Soil building compost
Q. Peter, we live at Harvest Gate in Puyallup in the Summit area where the underlying soil is clay and very rocky. I believe you recommended as an excellent soil builder a compost mixture that will sit over the winter months. My question: when, how much and is there a product that you could recommend?…
Christmas cactus rarely blooming?
Q. We have a Christmas cactus that continues to grow but rarely blooms. We have it in a garden window but it is still quite shaded. Do I need to put it in a dark room and water it for a certain period to get it to bloom? Gerri Wilson – Bonney Lake, WA A….
Please don’t strip the topsoil
Q. Hi Pete, My wife and I moved into a great house last year, with some fruit trees and several gardens from the original owner. i have many questions but i’ll just ask you one. i cleaned out an area on the south side of the house (it gets alot of sun too!) and very…