Ask the Garden Pro

Ask the experts at 2B Seeds for gardening tips and solutions.

Ralph Klug

Question: "I am interested in your herb seeds, however, I must find a way to keep aphids from destroying my herb collection in the house. I've tried soap and other stronger methods to no avail. If you could give me some advice here. I will try some seed again this winter."

Answer: Aphids are getting harder to control. We have noticed that aphids are less susceptible to insecticidal soap than they used to be. Insecticidal soap still kills some aphids, but it doesn't seem to give the complete kill that we remember.

Ladybugs do a good job bringing aphid populations down. You need to be heavy on the application rate; you need to see ladybugs on almost every plant. But ladybugs can't get into every crevice in the plants and always the aphids rebound from those crevices, so ladybugs must be seen as a temporary control until you move the plants out of the greenhouses.

Lacewings are another beneficial insect that you can try.

Although it is not considered organic by certifiers, nicotine is an excellent control of aphids. In the smoke bomb form it is relatively harmless as far as residues on plants go. So, since your herbs are grown in the home, I would get a large bag, put your container of herbs inside the bag, get a smoke bomb with Nicotine and bomb away. This is known to work in a large scale (greenhouse) so let�s try it on a small scale. If you want to use your Insecticide soap, use it every 4 days, for 3 applications, as aphids have a 4 day life cycle. So you must kill all stages of life. Thank you, Garden Pro"

Question: "I live in Santa Monica, California, and I recently bought two potted small sunflower plants. I repotted them and placed them out on my back porch -- unfortunately one was attacked by snails, which ate a portion of the leaves and most of the petals! I'm wondering two things. One, will the petals ever grow back? Will the plant reflower? How long does that take? Or is it gone for good? Secondly, obviously, what can I do to repel the snails? Is there anything non-toxic that I can put in my garden to prevent the snails from returning? I would be so appreciative if you could help. Thanks so much."

Answer: "Thank you for your question: The first question, the pedals on the sunflower bloom will not grow back but if you cut off the bloom the plant will grow new flowers which should take about 4 weeks. The second question, you can use old beer that you put into a sallow pan which will help. Moisture is the key on controlling snails; you need to reduce the level of moisture available. Do not water late in the day, water early in the morning. You also need to reduce the number of hiding places by removing dead vegetation and rocks which make good hiding places. You can also use physical barriers such as copper stripping or plastic milk jugs. You can also use barriers that are nontoxic such gypsum, diatomaceous earth or lime. These nontoxic chemicals will burn the soft bodies of the snails. The last means would be to hand-pinking the snails at night two hours or so after sunset. Thank you, Garden Pro"

Question: "I live in North Arkansas and would like to have impatiens in my flower bed this year but do not know if I can do this with seed or must have plants. If I can sow my flower bed with impatiens seed, when should I plant them and what special care should they have while maturing?"

Answer: "In response to your question regarding impatiens - first of all, yes you can start them from seed. Do not cover the seed with seedling soil, as they need the light to germinate, and keep soil moist but not saturated, but will need to be started indoors 8-10 weeks before you transplant them outside after your last frost. To start these seeds indoors, they need to be grown under lights with a soil temperature of 75-78�F. By "under lights", what we mean is florescent lighting approx 6-10" above the seedlings. After about 2 weeks when the first leaves appear, you will need to water with a WEAK fertilizer, meaning water it down from the instructions, so it doesn't burn the roots and leaves. Keep in seedling tray for up to 5 weeks and then transplant into a larger pot (before going outside) so in the beginning you will use a seedling tray, then a tray with 1.5" separate cells. Grow them in this size for the remaining weeks (5 weeks). All of the impatiens seed that we sell are High Energy seed, which have been selected for the maximum germination."

Question: "I planted some seed that was given to me. I was hoping someone can tell me how to cook them. They are growing fine, and I think the spelling is khlarabi not sure. I've seen red ones on seed packets, but these are white they look almost like a cabbage leaf with long stems to the stock and the veggie is in the middle - about the size of a baseball. Thank you very much hope you can help. "

Answer: "Thank you for your question. The seeds you received are Kohlrabi which can be ether white or red in color. Kohlrabi is related to the cabbage family and is a very good vegetable to plant in the fall of the year. The edible part of the plant is the swollen portion at the base. This vegetable can be eaten raw or cooked like cabbage and will store well. To eat fresh harvest when the leafs are 2-3 �inches long. Store in your refrigerator of 1-2 months. Thank you, Garden Pro "

Question: "I bought the Astra Balloon Flower Seeds and I noticed that when the flowers die it leaves a bulb with what appears to be seeds. In order to replant those can I put the whole thing in the ground in the fall or do I have to let them dry out and break them open? They are Perennials but is it the seeds dropping that makes them come back or is it the root? Thank you for your time."

Answer: "Thank you, for your question on balloon flower. What you should do is pick the seed pod and let it dry out at much as you can. Once the seeds dry out store the seeds in a cool location in an air tight container. This fall or early next spring try sowing the seeds as you have done before. Do not sow the seed pod by its self, break it open and spread the seeds out. Thank you, Garden Pro"

Question: "Every year for the past 3 years, my husband and I have attempted to grow tomatoes on our sunny patio in containers. The pots are large with ample drainage, we water each day (it's really hot here in N. California), and the soil we bought is an organic potting soil mix meant for growing veggies in containers. But, every year the leaves on the tomatoes begin to go yellow, starting from the bottom, and working their way up to the top. Leaf growth becomes sparse, unhealthy and production of fruit is very low. This year, we bought Tomato Patio F, which is supposed to be grown in containers, to see if that would make a difference. We planted it about a week and a half ago. Sure enough, the bottom rung of leaves has begun to turn yellow, despite the fact that the rest of the plant is dark green, showing buds, and on a good, thick stem. What is causing this??? Can you help us, please. It really is a frustration to us that we keep spending money each year for plants and soil, but get almost no return on our investment. Where we live right now, we have no alterative but to grow food crops in pots, as our main garden area is over the septic system. Every year, I see magazine photos of healthy tomatoes growing in pots and I really want to know what we're doing wrong. We'd so appreciate your expert advice!"

Answer: "With your leaves turning yellow, the tomato plant needs to be fertilized. The fertilizer that you need to use needs to be well balanced, meaning 20-20-20, and if you do not want to use this kind of fertilizer, use blood meal and fish emulsions. This will give you a good source of nitrogen, then you will need to add phosphorus (rock phosphate or super phosphate). Slow growing plants is a sure sign of low phosphorus. Be sure to read the instructions on the blood meal and fish emulsion because it is easy to over fertilize. The real issue here is the nutrition. The yellowing of the leaves is not uncommon with a new transplant, because any nutrition is gone by the time you take it home. If the plants are weak, this is an indication of low potassium. To get potassium in the soil you can add granite dust or wood ash. Call around to local garden centers to find these items.

This is the same as fertilizer 20-20-20 (same effect, different ingredients) or to make it real simple just go but some tomato food at the garden centers. Hope this helps, you make also want to add bone meal as this is a great source of calcium. Plants are just like people, they need a well-balanced diet to grow and be healthy."