Fruits
Caring For Ghost Peppers Inside
Q: I love hot peppers and grow ghost peppers in two containers. What is the best way to care for them if I bring them inside for the winter? A: Even though we think of peppers as being annual plants,...
How Much Space Should I Leave Between My Blueberry Bushes?
Q: I inherited an overgrown blueberry patch ten years ago. I managed to clear it and they have borne a reasonable quantity of fruit each year. However, I lose a lot of fruit because the rows between the bushes have...
Are There Any Heirloom Tomato Festivals In The Southeast?
Q: Are there any heirloom tomato festivals in the Southeast? I’m looking for a way to taste a variety of heirlooms at once. A: Cartersville GA, Raleigh NC, Columbia SC, and Hendersonville NC have yearly tomato festivals of some sort....
My Plants Produced Fewer/Smaller Tomatoes This Year
Q: I had the worst year ever for tomatoes. The plants didn’t produce as many tomatoes and the tomatoes themselves were smaller than normal. A: I think it was just the vagaries of your local environment. Several things can cause...
Is It True That The Female Watermelons Are Sweeter?
Q: I was bragging to a friend that my sliced watermelon is always sweet because I choose the round female ones and not the longer male fruit. He laughed at me at said this was an urban myth! Who is...
My Large Peach Tree Is Not Producing Well
Q: I have a rather large peach tree that doesn’t produce very well. I didn’t prune it properly at the beginning so it’s about 15 feet tall with lots of branches and doesn’t have an open center. A: A short...
How Can I Help My Peach Tree Resume Vertical Growth?
Q: Our peach tree has suffered for years from extensive shading on one side, encouraging it to lean precipitously. It has lots of green leaves. I removed the trees around it recently. Can I help the peach to resume vertical...
Advice For Proper Varieties And Planting Of Fig Trees?
Q: What advice do you have for proper varieties and planting of fig trees? A: Figs growing in the open in Dahlonega can suffer lots of damage in a severe winter. But given a sheltered planting spot by a wall...
Should I Put Crushed Egg Shells In Soil Around Tomatoes?
Q: I saw online that you can put crushed egg shells in the soil around tomatoes for extra nutrients. Is this a good idea? A: It doesn’t hurt anything to put crushed eggshells around tomato plants, but it probably doesn’t...
Where To Get Non-GMO Heirloom Big Boy And Better Boy Tomato Seeds?
Q: Where can I get non-GMO heirloom Big Boy and Better Boy tomato seeds? A: When I saw your question initially, I thought to myself “What does he mean by ‘heirloom’? Those tomato varieties aren’t that old!” But I am...
Solving Fusarium Wilt Wilt On Tomatoes
Q: My UGA Extension office says I have fusarium wilt on my tomatoes. I was thinking of laying plastic over the area and letting the sun cook the soil. A: Solarizing the soil is a good option to control diseases...
Termites in Tomato Stakes
Q: We pulled up the wooden tomato stakes from our raised beds and found them covered with termites. What would you do? A: Finding termites on untreated wooden stakes is not a problem. This is the way nature is supposed...
Tomato Producing Too Small Fruit
Q: I had the worst year ever for tomatoes. The plants didn’t produce as many tomatoes and the tomatoes themselves were smaller than normal. A: I think it was just the vagaries of your local environment. Several things can cause...
Figs – How to Know When Ripe
Q: My figs are turning brown. How do I know when they are ripe? A: One way is to look for those that have bird peck holes. They have spent thousands of years contemplating your question, so they are experts!...
Big Boy vs Better Boy Tomato
Q: What is the difference between Big Boy and Better Boy tomatoes? A: Both are hybrid tomatoes that were developed to perform better than “open pollinated” types. Dr. Oved Shifriss developed ‘Big Boy’ while working for W. Atlee Burpee &...
Repeatedly Planting Tomatoes In The Same Area
Q: I have a small vegetable garden in which I plant tomatoes. I’m concerned about repeatedly planting tomatoes there year after year. The garden isn’t big enough to rotate plants. A: You have a problem faced by many gardeners with...
When/How Far Can You Trim Kiwi Plants?
Q: When and how far can you trim kiwi plants back? A: They can be pruned much like muscadine grapes are pruned, typically in January or February. But the people I know who have kiwi vines usually let them grow...
What To Do If You Put Too Much Compost In Tomato Beds?
Q: We put too much compost in a raised bed for tomato plants. Now we have tall, healthy plants but no flowers a month later. What to do? A: Not much can be done except to wait until the plants...
