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QGROW TOBACCO?

My family grew tobacco near Tapawera for generations. I’d like to try growing it for old time’s sake. Can it be grown in a home garden? C D DENNIS, WAIRARAPA

ASetha Davenport grows heritage seeds in the Hawke’s Bay. Originally from the USA she grew tobacco for interest even though she is a nonsmoker. To Native Americans tobacco is a sacred plant used in peace pipe rituals. Historically, Virginia tobacco has been highly valued, and today it is the most widely used base tobacco in pipe tobacco mixtures. Setha was surprised to find that tobacco is a beautiful tall, ornamental flowering perennial. She says, “The stunning pink flowers have an exotic jasmine scent, especially at night to attract pollinating moths, making it ideal as a companion for gourds, as they are pollinated by night moths. The sticky leaves act as natural fly paper capturing unwanted insects such as whitefly.”

Setha recommends sowing seed in spring or late summer. Direct scatter sow in borders and rows, or sow into trays and prick out to 2.5cm diagonal spacing when true leaves appear. Transplant out to 30cm diagonal spacing in fertile soil in full sun. The frost-hardy plants grow to 1.5m.

Tobacco is a perennial but it can be biennial where winters are cold, and is often treated as an annual. A tall plant, tobacco is great for the back of a border or can be used as a trellis for clambering vegetables such as gourds.

Small amounts of tobacco can be grown for personal use only and must not be distributed or sold. Skill is required to make it palatable. When the leaves turn yellow or ripen they are picked individually then dried. The full range of Setha’s heritage seeds can be ordered from Setha’s Seeds (sethasseeds.co.nz). Barbara Smith

QSUNBURNT PLUMS

Last year my plums ended up with blemished skin that looked like sunburn. The flesh underneath was bitter tasting. I have protected the tree from wind and this year will be more careful protecting from frost too. I sprayed with copper oxychloride before bud burst. What is happening and what I can do about it? AMY STEVEN, ROLLESTON

AThis is sunburn! There isn’t a lot of leaf coverage on this plum tree, so the fruit is quite exposed. Canterbury was particularly hot and dry last year, so it may or may not be an issue this year.

The reflected heat from the fence behind the tree will be exacerbating the problem (painting it a lighter colour could help). Pruning to leave more vegetative growth for leaf coverage will help.

Just in case, once the fruit is starting to size up, cover the tree with white frost cloth of a dense weave. Secure so that it is open on each side to allow air movement around the tree. Apparently white cloth is the most effective in blocking heat and allowing sunlight in to allow the fruit to mature, compared with green, red or black cloth. Kate Marshall, Waimea Nurseries

QGNAWED YAMS

I usually leave yams in the ground to harvest as I need them but they're being eaten. What is doing the damage? If I harvest the whole crop how should they be stored? CHRISTINE POTTER, TURANGI

AThe size of the teeth marks suggests mice, although slaters and other mini beasts may have had a chew as well once the mice had gained access, so you might want to lay traps.

Yams or oca ( Oxalis tuberosa) are frost tender so seed yams are planted in spring and mature by late autumn and are harvested over winter.

While harvesting try to remove every one. Tiny yams left behind will sprout but are unlikely to produce good-sized crops. They’ll also be a nuisance if you plant something else in the same place.

Store them in the vege crisper in the fridge or in your fruit bowl.

Keep the biggest, smoothest yams to replant or use supermarket ones – they come in red-, yellow- and apricotcoloured varieties. They’ll let you know when they’re ready to replant as each little eye will start to sprout.

Plant in a sunny spot. Grow in a raised bed or on a slight mound if the soil is likely to get water-logged. Dig in plenty of compost, well-rotted manure and slow-release fertiliser.

Plant the tubers 25cm apart about 6-8cm deep, in rows 45cm apart. Mounding up the plants as you would for potatoes seems to increase the size of the tubers. Barbara Smith

QBAY LEAVES

I was sold this tree as a ‘Verdi’ bay tree. The leaves are not very fragrant so I have been worried about using them for cooking. Please confirm what species the tree is. GLORIA YEE, AUCKLAND

ALaurus nobilis ‘Verdi’ is a selected, upright form of the usual culinary bay tree. ‘Verdi’ grows to 3m in height and up to 2m in diameter. The leaves are evergreen and leathery and can be used for cooking.

Bay tree leaves aren’t particularly fragrant when they are young and bright green. The smell gets stronger when they’re dried and crushed. Your tree looks very healthy and the leaves will be fine for cooking – green straight off the tree or dried.

Remove any suckers from the base and rub off any shoots on the stem to keep the standard shape. Clip regularly – little and often is better than a savage hack back once a year. Keep some of the pruned twigs and leaves in the pantry. They will dry naturally and the smell deters pantry moths.

Watch out for scale on the backs of the leaves in hot, dry weather. Black fungus called sooty mould grows on the honeydew excreted by the sap-sucking scale. Deal with the mould by washing it off with soapy water and treat the scale to prevent it reappearing. Otherwise bay trees are an easy-to-care-for, attractive addition to the garden. Barbara Smith