USE VASELINE AGAINST THOSE PESKY SLUGS
Q I have a question regarding my Evans cherry crop. We were recently picking cherries and noticed that many of the ripe berries had what looked like old slash marks on the fruit. I finally achieved some level of ant control around the trees with Raid and sticky tape, only to encounter this new issue. The damage was fairly significant and a lot of fruit had to be discarded. I thought that you might know what this could be and what sort of control measure needs to happen.
A It’s pretty difficult to say what the issue is without seeing it, but if I had to guess I would say that slugs are the issue — and not pear slugs, but regular, gardenvariety slugs. Yes, they can climb trees and frequently do. How do I know? Because my Evans cherry was attacked in the same manner. The difference is that I caught the invaders red-handed. You can try applying a band of Vaseline around the trunk of the tree to keep the slugs off. The ants are not doing any damage to your tree or the fruit. Using a chemical cocktail bomb like Raid is certainly not the best approach. Ants are usually a symptom rather than the problem. They are often found where there are aphids, for example.
Q I am hoping you can you help solve the mystery of my cucumbers this year. My plants had many beautiful flowers but did not produce any cucumbers at all. Is it something I am doing or not doing?
A Ah yes, the mystery of cucumbers. This reminds me of a joke: A guy walks into the doctor’s office. There is a banana stuck in one of his ears, a cucumber in the other ear, and a carrot stuck in one nostril. The man says, “Doc, this is terrible. What’s wrong with me?” The doctor says, “Well, first of all, you need to eat more sensibly.”
In all seriousness, there may be a couple of reasons for your lack of cucumber production. There could be a lack of bees or other insects to pollinate the flowers, resulting in pretty flowers but little productivity. The other issue could be temperature or drought stress, which can actually cause the plants to produce only male flowers that will not generate fruit. The conditions we had this summer, with periods of intense heat with drought-like conditions, could account for your problem. What are some possible solutions? You could try hand-fertilizing flowers if the issue is a lack of pollination. Also, you can try consistent watering if the problem is due to drought. Cucumbers like moist (but not damp) soil to produce the best.
Q I have a raspberry patch that I moved a couple of years ago, since it seemed that the old patch was ‘tired’ and doing poorly. This season has had a good yield, but the bearing canes need a lot of support or they just bend over. We have clay soil, and plenty of peat moss and compost has been added over the last 25 years. However, the soil still gets hard packed and I am wondering if earthworms are to blame. Is the soil lacking something that could be added to strengthen the canes? Also, is there anything that can be done about the powdery mildew on zucchini leaves?
A One of the most common causes of weak raspberry canes is a lack of moisture during the growing period. From your description, the hard-packed soil may in fact be contributing to lack of moisture, because the water may just not be able to penetrate the soil fully. It is hard to say why the soil is still hard if you have been adding organic matter for the past 25 years.
Another factor may be the addition of peat moss to the soil. Raspberries prefer alkaline soil conditions, and peat moss will turn an alkaline soil acidic over time. Raspberries perform best in soil with a pH level of around six, while peat moss pH is around four. This may explain the weak canes on the raspberries as well. I would recommend having your soil tested to determine if it is in fact acidic.
Meanwhile, the powdery mildew can be treated with a garden sulphur spray.