Question: I have one of those dwarf apple trees with 5 different apples. It got an orange colored spotting in the last month. This is the second year that we have had the tree. What can I spray the tree with to get rid of it? James, Groton, CT

Mort's Answer: You have a rust. You will need to prune the tree to build it¼s strength. Newly planted material was easily stressed by the dry spring and early summer. Stressed plants are very vulnerable to insect and fungal infection. Your first order of business will be to fertilize the roots. Make 8 holes in a circle about two feet on each branch this winter. All upward shoots should also be cut out. A scaffolding of 5 major lateral branches should be developed over the next 5 years. All flower bearing branches should be developed over the next 5 years. All flower bearing branches should come off these 5 lateral branches. Lastly, you will need to spray very often to produce disease free fruit. When the leaves drop this fall, you can apply a dormant oil spray. It should be 65 for 4 days to be effective. If you miss this opportunity this fall, you can catch it this coming spring before the leaves come out. In the spring, you can follow this up with Bordeaux mix after the flower petals have dropped. Follow directions on the label for the additional spray times. You can apply the Bordeaux now to arrest the rust. I would not plan on getting too many apples for three years.

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Question: We have some apples on our property with a black mold on the leaves. I understand that the wild cedars may be affecting the apples. Is this true and can we cut the cedars down? Sue, Salem, CT

Mort's Answer: Juniperus virginiana is a very hardy tree that can harbor fungi through the winter that will later spread to crab apples gooseberries and other fruited deciduous trees and shrubs. These cedars make excellent firewood for baked apples and emit a wonderful aroma of their own. Yes, there are many very nice species of spruce that would adequately replace the severed cedars. I also recommend that you get a book on pruning for your apples and start a spraying program with dormant spray and the home orchard sprays that are readily available.

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Question: My wife started spraying our apple trees with a soluble fertilizer this year. We now have black spots on the fruit but not the leaves this year. We use a dormant oil spray every year. What can we do? Jim, Elizabeth City, NC

Mort's Answer: Scab, fly speck or sooty blotch are best avoided with a program that includes dormant oil and Bordeaux Mix. As the bud swells in the spring, you can apply the first spray. A second spray is administered after petal fall with two more subsequent sprays. Follow directions on the label. Unfortunately, this program is too late for you this year. I would put out sticky, red maggot balls to discourage further egg laying by the flies. A soapy solution will help keep away most insects with the help of the red balls. I do not like to use soluble fertilizers on fruit and landscape material. The growth is too quick and requires constant follow up. Do not fertilize again for two years. Wash all the fruit and peel the fruit with black spots.

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Question: The lightening split our apple right down the middle. Will I have any apples and should I cut it down now? Sharon, Hastings, NEB

Mort's Answer: I would cut the lesser half off at the stem. Use tree wax over the cut. Also apply tree wax over the exposed split that is left. Can you save it? Maybe. Should you try? Yes. You will need to fertilize as instructed in the above question. You will need to prune more severely because a lot of energy will be needed to restore the tree to health. The apples will ripen but they may be a lot smaller unless you do the recommended treatment soon.

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Question: What is the best way to transplant asparagus? Virginia, Sheffield, IL

Mort's Answer: Allow the asparagus to go to seed this summer. Cut it back in mid September. In the beginning of October, you can dig a trench that is 1 inch deep and 1 inch wide for as long as necessary to accommodate each plant about 18 inches apart. The trench can be refilled with loam, that is rich with aged manure at the bottom 2 inches. The remainder of the soil should be a third peat. Crowns of the asparagus should be at the old soil line at the top. Make an indentation on the edges of the trench. This will allow the rain water to be trapped. On top of the soil, you can add some granular 5-10-10 fertilizer. Let the plants go to seed each summer and cut them every fall.

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Question: When is a good time to cut back asparagus? Rose, Niantic, CT

Mort's Answer: After you allow the spears to grow to seed, the lacy tops will feed the roots for next years stems. You can cut them down to the ground in late summer or early fall.

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Question: I would like to split my asparagus this year. When should I do it? Donald, Rock Tavern, NY.

Mort's Answer: It is best to wait until the late or mid fall, which would be the end of September in your area. Dig out the whole row and lay the plants on their sides. Cut through the top and root at the same time like a cleave of pork chop. Be sure to get sufficient root (around two inches thick for each new plant). Dig two new trenches that are a foot deep and a foot wide for as long a sit takes to receive all the new plants 18 inches apart. The new soil should be rich in composted material with well rotted manure. It should be slightly mounded to the center with a little gully on each side of the new trench. After they are planted, you can cut off the tops. Line each side of the plants with a handful of bonemeal sprinkled on the soil. Asparagus love phosphorus and rich organic soil.

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Question: I get a tiny little bug (1/8 th of an inch) in my asparagus spears the last two years. What can I use to get rid of it? Raymond, Middlesboro, KY

Mort's Answer: Fly larvae attach themselves in the late summer. Old debris should be removed in the fall. Rotenone with pyrethrum can be applied to the soil before the spears come up. Sevin dust can be applied, when the spears are a couple of inches high. Either application will suffice, if the infestation is not heavy. The rotenone also comes in combination with other organic compounds. Sevin is best applied at first sighting of the specks. Sevin is a contact spray and only lasts a couple of days.

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Question: Can I purchase bees for my fruit trees? We are seeing less and less bees each year. Pat, Groton, CT

Mort's Answer: You can rent bees from apiaries. More and more orchards now insure pollination by renting bees. It would also be wise to plant clover under the trees. This will attract the bees and their sons. Clover also provides nitrogen in the soil for the fruits.

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Question: Can you give me some advise on the care of blueberries? These are established plants that I inherited. Carol, Charlestown, RI

Mort's Answer: Blueberries love old sawdust. Place a crown of eight inches of aged sawdust every spring around the stem. New sawdust will not work because it draws nitrogen away from the soil. Old sawdust that can be bought at lumber yards or aged in your yard will take nitrogen from the air and put it into the soil. It also is an excellent mulch. If you cannot obtain old sawdust, a straw mulch and high nitrogen granular fertilizer will suffice. Dormant oil sprays or Neem, if applied in the autumn after the leaves have fallen or in the early spring before the leave buds open, will help considerably. Overhead netting will keep the birds from taking the berries before you can pick them. Alarms are available to scare the birds. If you are in the country, one of the alarms that sounds like a shotgun would be effective.

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Question: How do I care for a year old blueberry bush? Dom, Pelican Rapids, MI

Mort's Answer: I would not count on too many berries in the first year. Blueberries love aged sawdust. Two year old sawdust will take nitrogen out of the air andput it into the soil. Before placing about 6 inches of sawdust mulch around the base of the plant dust the top of the soil with 5-10-10 fertilizer. Cut the ends of the branches this fall to make a more compact bush for the winter.

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Question: We have broccoli that has yellowed and shot right up. We have used a lot of manure. What is the problem? Ron, Norwich, CT

Mort's Answer: You should start broccoli indoors in late February or March. Seedling plants go out immediately after the last frost. This means that you will probably need a cloche or cold frame in case you misjudge. It will survive a light frost. This means that you should have started cutting the heads in May. April was too dry in your area for a lot of crops. You could start seed now for late August transplants. If you keep cool, you could have august broccoli this fall.

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Question: I planted melons and tomatoes together. Will the bees cross pollinate them? Paul, Silverdale, WA

Mort's Answer: Pollination will produce fruit but not affect the fruit itself. Seeds from that fruit may be in variance within the same specie of plant. Bees are affected by the flowers that they visit. Apple honey is much different in flavor than rose honey, for instance.

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Question: My Fig tree is getting too large to bring into the house. Can you recommend an alternative? Beth, Newport , RI.

Mort's Answer: You can bury the ficus. Build a grave site that is two feet deep and long enough to accommodate the height of the tree. You can wrap the tree in burlap before burial. The most important consideration is to have different densities in the materials that are used to cover the fig. You can cover the tree with or without burlap with sawdust or shredded leaves, while it is on it¹s side. You can cover the root with sand. Sand is excellent for the root in particular because it drains so well. The whole tree and roots can be covered with a canvas over the sawdust and sand. Topsoil can be then put on top, if the canvas is used, to hold it down. This layering will act as insulation for the fig. Next late April, you can upright the fig and mix the different materials together to form a quite suitable soil for the fig. Each year you should root prune the fig to insure ease in digging. This will also strengthen the root system and improve the overall health of your fig.

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Question: When can I plant garlic and can I plant it indoors? Flora, LaGrande, OR

Mort's Answer: Garlic can be planted in the fall or in the spring. It has been grown asa houseplant. I would mix potting soil with a third of sand to insure drainage as an indoor plant. Use a sunny location indoors. Both the indoor and the outdoor plant could use a high middle number fertilizer. I like 5-10-10.A tablespoon will suffice indoors. Plant the garlic bulb at three times the depth in eastern Oregon. Put the fertilizer on top of the soil after planting.

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Question: My friend planted ginger in a pot and the leaves are sprouting. The root is out of the soil on the top. Any suggestions? Denise, Montville, CT

Mort's Answer: Zingiber officinale needs temperatures over 70. It develops a thick root stock, which can be easily divided. Ginger has long slender leaves (about a foot), often variegated. Z. officinale has a greenish yellow flower and grows to 3 or 4 feet high It can be planted outdoors in late spring in zones 5 north and early spring south. It is not hardy above Orlando. This tropical plant prefers a moist environment. Bath or kitchens are best on the south side for strong filtered light. In the winter kept half dormant and let it stay dry as a houseplant. If you do plant it outdoors for the summer, take it back in doors in the early fall. At that time you can harvest some great aromatic roots for your efforts. It is better to allow this root to stick out of the pot but it can be covered outdoors.

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Question: How do you regenerate seedless grapes? Charles, East Lyme, CT

Mort's Answer: Cuttings can be made from the mother plant. They are then grafted on hardy stock like the Concord grape. New seedless grapes are hybridized with selected parents to produce the seedless originals. Later generations are more easily grown from cuttings and grafts.

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Question: We put in some grapevines a couple of years ago. We get very few grapes. What can I do to improve the yield? Joe, Las Vegas, NV

Mort's Answer: Grapes are best grown on a trellis. It can be simply strands of wire. Most home grown grapes will do best with the Kniffen system of pruning. Each plant will give an optimum yield at twenty feet. Your wires should be at 3 feet and at six feet high parallel to the ground. Each plant should be 20 feet from the next. You will need to train the espaliers to have two lateral branches at three and six feet respectively. The final shape is a double cross with the length no longer than 10 feet on each side. Keep the interiors clean of extraneous growth. The ends of these branches will give the best fruit for your labors. You will also need to fertilize with a 5-10-10 every other year by digging holes with a crow bar around the stems. Dig the holes a foot away for each inch of diameter in the stems.

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Question: My lettuce has shot straight up the last two weeks. Can I do something to get it to form a head? Amy, Old Lyme, CT

Mort's Answer: In your area lettuce should be planted a lot earlier to assure that you can get ahead. Let us be clear about the timetable. You can plant the plants in mid April under a cloche or cold frame. The plants need cold weather to bring leaves to a head. Heat causes lettuce to bolt. When this occurs, the lettuce is bitter and inedible. Stay away from high phosphorus fertilizers.

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