The gardening season is up and running and if you’ve got questions, turn to Ask an Expert, an online question-and-answer tool from Oregon State University’s Extension Service. OSU Extension faculty and Master Gardeners reply to queries within two business days, usually less. To ask a question, simply go to the OSU Extension website and type it in and include the county where you live. Here are some questions asked by other gardeners. What’s yours?
Q: We added about 3-4 inches of yard debris compost into our garden. We got it from a landscaping company as a soil amendment. The leaves on our cucumbers, beans, tomatoes and squash are all starting to turn yellow. The cucumbers have it the worst. I don’t know if it’s from the compost or what. I haven’t done a soil test. Any advice? Could I till in some top soil? – Clackamas County
A: Yes, you have nailed the “compost” problem. As you can see by the size of the wood chunks, what they call compost has not really broken down yet. What it is doing right now is trying to break down by using up the nitrogen in competition with your plants. Obviously, the “compost” is winning.
According to the Permies website (permaculture): Vegetable gardens can be a problem when chips are mixed with soil. “These plants don’t have roots (for the most part) that go deep and widely spread, usually their roots are very near the surface and within 1 meter diameter circle from the main stem. Squash and other vining plants put roots out all along their vine leaf nodes, but these are still shallow roots, so they are vulnerable to nitrogen binding by any wood chip mulch we might put down.”
I think the simplest thing might be to add a fertilizer high in nitrogen. Fertilizers have three numbers on the bag and the first one is nitrogen. Find one that says it is for vegetable gardens and where the first number is highest. Apply it at the rate it says on the bag. That should allow your wood chips to continue breaking down and still give some direct support to your vegetables.
And the good news is, by next year the “compost” really will be compost and you should have good rich soil (although that can depend on water, weather and how much bacterial activity you can encourage in the soil).
It looks like your plants are in raised beds or planters. You will want to make sure they don’t dry out, as the wood chips will not hold the water as well as real soil would. It might be worth spreading topsoil (not from the garden, rather purchased bagged or bulk) on the top of the beds for about an inch to help the water absorb. That would also help the wood chips break down. And next time, check to see what the “compost” looks like before you decide to buy. Sometimes what is called “3-way” or “4-in-one” mixes are better bets for raised beds. They are a mix of compost, sand, soil and other things. – Rhonda Frick-Wright, OSU Extension Master Gardener
Putting rocks in containers doesn't help with drainage. File photo. reich
Q: I have several pots for indoor plants with no drain hole. Does a small layer of rocks help with drainage or should I incorporate the rocks with the potting soil? – Multnomah County
A: Rocks actually do nothing to help the plants avoid root diseases or promote healthy plants. Your pots really should have drain holes drilled in them, under which you can add saucers. Here is an Extension article on this topic. Here is a more general article on houseplant care. – Kris LaMar, OSU Extension Master Gardener
ChardOSU Extension Service
Q: I have some chard that over wintered and seemed healthy earlier this year. For the past month or more, they’ve been getting brown leaves, especially lower on the plant. The beets that I have planted are starting to show the same symptoms. – Lane County
A: It is spinach/beet leaf miner. The fly lays tiny white eggs on the back of the leaf, they hatch and burrow in between the two leaf surfaces where they feed. They are quite bad in our area. They attach beets, chard and spinach by preference.
When you first see the browning, pick the leaf and hold it to the light. You will see the trails and frass (poop) and may even see the maggot’s silhouette. If you let it go, the maggots will chew out, drop to the ground and wait to become new flies and multiply. More information and how to control them can be found in this article. – Pat Patterson, OSU Extension horticulturist, retired
Q: An enormous maple tree was removed in my backyard and the stump was ground out. There is a big area where the wood chips and dirt are mixed together. I would like to plant lawn there but I’m not sure of the best way to do this with the conditions that exist. – Washington County
A: You need to excavate all the organic debris and replace with soil. If you don’t, all the organic matter will degrade over time and the area will sink.
Also, the area will be continually needing to be fertilized with nitrogen because microbes will be continually breaking down all the organic matter and simultaneously using available nitrogen for that process.
Lastly, when you have high organic matter, you often end up with a fungal disease called fairy ring, which produces mushrooms, green rings and dry soil that can result in dead turf from lack of water.
After refilling the hole with soil, water it and drive heavy equipment over it to make sure it is packed well. Give it a couple weeks to a month to settle. I would also water it heavily during this time. Finally, add some more soil, smooth it out, and seed it. If you can, it helps to put a light coat of mulch (peat moss, saw dust, or horse compost) over the top of the seed to hold in the moisture during establishment.
Finally, fertilize the area with 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet and water it lightly 3-4 times a day to keep the surface moist, but not puddling. Once the seed germinates (in about 7-10 days), you can cut watering to once in the afternoon (unless it’s really hot you’ll have to water twice a day) for a week or two. After that, water thoroughly at night or in the morning. Before your first mow, dry the area down a little bit for a couple days (i.e. turn off the irrigation) to firm the surface so you do not rut the soil with your feet and the mower wheels.
Fertilize again four weeks after germination. – Brian McDonald, OSU Extension horticulturist
Tomato plant start.
Q: If I remove blossoms from my Brandy Boy tomato plants when I plant them in my garden, will it negatively impact the yield of tomatoes? I have the tomato plants in my greenhouse and they have quite a few blossoms already. My goal is to plant them the week of May 24th. Thanks in advance for your guidance. – Lane County
A: If the tomato plants are small still, yes, you need to remove all the blossoms to direct the energy to the root system for a full crop. If the tomatoes are very robust and have a large root system, then you can just transplant them. You may get some blossom drop, but it should not be significant. I am presuming you have already hardened them off to prepare for the transition to the outdoors. – Pat Patterson, OSU Extension horticulturist, retired.
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