Q My son just bought his first house, in Perry County. He is on hilltop with two acres of pretty flat land. The woman he bought the house from said her husband had a pretty good garden. My son would like to start growing his own vegetables. Any good beginner books that you would recommend for him to get started on being a city-boy farmer?
A A great reference for vegetable gardening in our state is a publication available from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service titled Vegetable Gardening in Arkansas by Craig Andersen. It is $7 plus shipping and handling. Order at: pubs.uaex.
edu/PubsWebPublic.
asp. The book gives you a planting chart of what to grow when, basics of how to start a garden and an individual sheet on each recommended vegetable with cultural information.
Q I need to replace sod on my front lawn because of damage done in replacing my sewer line. My lawn is bermuda - should I have it resodded now or wait until spring?
A While sod is sold year-round, I would wait until spring. Especially with the huge fluctuations of temperatures we have been having so far this winter, I think you will have better success waiting until the grass is actively growing.
For now, just mulch the area to keep the soil from eroding.
Q My backyard ends in a rough, wooded ravine. I love having the greenbelt, but vines are trying to take over. Twice, I have had someone go in there in the winter to remove vines, but the next summer they’re back in full force. How can I get rid of the vines?
A Unfortunately unless you can totally kill the vines, roots and all, they will simply begin to grow again the next season.
Living next to a wild area will require some maintenance yearly. You can try to create a buffer zone between you and the wild area, but eventually the vines and plants will encroach.
QIs there any way to change the bloom period of my “Christmas” cactus? With its beautiful full, red blossoms it now showers us with joy at Eastertime. I would prefer that it would bloom at Christmas - with its red blooms. Is there anything I can do to have it make that change?
AI am betting you actually have an Easter cactus instead of a Christmas cactus.
The Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata), the Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii) and the Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri) all look alike but there are some differences in the leaf margins and the bloom times. The Thanksgiving cactus has claw-like teethon the leaf margins. The true Christmas cactus has rounded leaves. Today the majority of the so-called holiday cacti sold from November through December are really the Thanksgiving cactus - Schlumbergera truncata, because they bloom the easiest. True Christmas cactus are a bit more finicky. The Easter cactus also has more rounded lobes but has little tufts of hairs at the tips. It typically blooms in early spring. So I would say enjoy yours when it blooms, but buy another cactus - one that’s in bloom now - to ensure you have a Christmas cactus.
QI have a Hedychium coronarium that I brought back from Hawaii about 10 years ago.
It blooms in midsummer.
My problem is the ends of the leaves always appear burned. I do not have it in direct sunlight. I keep it on my covered patio. Is it in need of some type of special fertilizer?
AHedychium coronarium, or the white ginger lily, is a great plant for Arkansas, too. I would plant it in the ground and let it grow. My guess is the tips of the leaves are being burned by fertilizer or a salt buildup in the soil - which happens to houseplants in containers quite often. The ginger lilies are now overwintering in most of Arkansas, but would need a little added protection in the northernmost part of the state. Plant yours outside in a sunny, well-drained location in the spring after frost is over. It will multiply nicely and give you those wonderfully fragrant blooms in late summer.
Janet Carson is a horticulture specialist for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Write to her at 2301 S. University Ave., Little Rock, Ark. 72204 or email her at
HomeStyle, Pages 33 on 01/04/2014