Hot, dry weather causes leaf curl
Dear Helen: My tomato plants began looking strangely twisted last month. What could cause this?
P.S. A certain amount of leaf rolling on tomato plants is not a major problem. It is usually present in hot, dry weather and can be improved by providing adequate moisture, ensuring soil fertility, and mulching with a nourishing compost.
Weed-killer spray drift will cause twisted, curled and deformed foliage on tomatoes, starting with the newest leaves. Curled older leaves are commonly the result of widely fluctuating extremes of temperature and/or soil moisture levels. Dear Helen: What are the best herbs for attracting and feeding bees?
L.D.
There are many. The thymes in flower are always abuzz with bee activity. The same is true for rosemary, which has a longer period of bloom. Lavender, sage, oregano, mint and chives are more favourite bee plants. Herbs with umbel-shaped flowers (cilantro, dill, parsley) are bee magnets. Dear Helen: How late can I sow bush beans and still expect a harvest? H.E. I plan my last bush-bean sowing for around July 15. That’s always worked well for me. Dear Helen: Have you had any experience with mummy berry fungus on blueberry bushes? Is there a way to get rid of the infection on the plants without using pesticides? N.T. I’ve not had mummy berry in my blueberry bushes, but I know several farm growers in my area who have had to deal with the problem.
Just a few weeks ago, one of those growers told me a remarkable success story of getting rid of the fungus on more than 100 plants. This happened at the farmers’ market where I check in briefly with a few growers every Saturday morning.
As I approached Kathy’s stall, she greeted me with a beaming smile and a happy message of a bumper blueberry crop shaping up this summer. She is the source I use when I need to supplement my own blueberries to ensure a year’s supply to freeze.
Kathy and her partner had been trying to control mummy berry on their bushes, with only modest success, until the fall of 2015, when they launched a major cleanup. They cleaned the ground around and between the rows, which are arranged three metres apart. They tilled the soil, and raked it to create a slight slope away from the bushes toward a shallow trench along the centre line between the rows. Then they laid black weed barrier cloth over the ground.
Mummy-berry infections manifest themselves in blackened, wilted new spring growth and berries that discolour and drop to the ground to germinate the following spring and infect new growth.
Once the black cloth was in place, Kathy made sure it was swept clean every two days, to remove sources of future infection. The slope helped fallen berries and any other debris to roll or gravitate toward the centre line between the rows. They kept the plants pruned to facilitate good air circulation and to remove any diseased growth. They did this all through last year, but did not expect entirely clean plants for a while.
That is why Kathy is so happy that darkened, wilted new shoots appeared on not one of the plants this spring, She grows eight varieties, and the bushes are loaded with healthy berries. Dear Helen: How can I deal with black aphids clustered on my globe artichokes? The buds are going to be ruined.
G.O. Wash them off with a fairly strong jet of water from the hose. This needs to be done every few days to keep the aphids discouraged.
Consider future plantings near the artichokes of dill, cilantro, and/or alyssum — plants that attract and feed the most efficient predators of aphids. Dear Helen: Our daughter and her cat have moved into a condo with a mostly shaded balcony. I’d like to fill a small container of shade plants that won’t harm the cat. It has a habit of nibbling on plants. S.G.
Why not plant a hanging basket or two with begonias, fuchsias, impatiens, or/and coleus? They’d be out of reach yet still enjoyable.
Cats are mysterious and unpredictable. It’s difficult to know how an individual cat will react to plants. Apparently, though, they dislike the smell of citrus. Bits of lemon and orange peel in pots are said to help keep cats away. There are also deterrent sprays at pet stores.