Hello, I decided to plant garlic and shallots this fall. I planted 2 raised beds with several varieties (hard neck) about 2 weeks ago, and mulched them with lots of straw. I noticed today that some have sprouted. Do I need to worry? Is there something I can do? It’s really been terribly warm. Also, I haven’t been watering them, since I planted them and watered them in. Should I water? It hasn’t rained here much at all since they were planted. I read your article about garlic but I’m not sure what I should do in this situation. Thanks for any info.

When removing wet leaves from a garden bed, I discovered a white fungus along the wood edging and on a separate piece of wood. Air circulation is not optimal in this area due to neighbors fence. I can not find pictures for reference to name it. I want to make sure it is not blastomycosis. Can I use the baking soda, vegetable oil and water formula to eradicate it? Or is there a better treatment. Thank you.

Can I plant vegetable seeds now that will survive winter freeze and grow in the spring. If yes please let me know which vegetable seeds I can plant now.

What is the best method for disposing of invasive plants, such as bittersweet vines? Recycling centers do not want them, and I do not want to put them into a compost pile

I started a horizontal hive spring of 2024. Seemed healthy for a couple months but then the numbers gradually declined. By September the numbers were just a couple thousand and I couldn't find the queen or any eggs/brood. Actually, I only inspected the hive on 3 occasions and never saw a queen or brood. Because of low numbers and no queen, I purchased a queen mid-September in hopes of a quick rebound. The numbers continued to decline, and the weak hive became susceptible to yellow jackets. By end of October the hive was dead. I want to try again next spring but don't know the definitive cause of this failed hive. I live in a neighborhood where some herbicides and maybe pesticides are used. I'm 3/4 mile from the beach so it's a damp climate. Possibly I never had a queen? Diseases? Pests? My daughter, 20 miles inland of me, has raised bees for several years in traditional Langstroth's and I built her a duplicate of my horizontal hive. Hers is doing fine. Thank you, Allan

I have three 25-foot cryptomeria japonica which started browning out in the past few weeks. Only one of them is close to another tree, so there is no crowding of the two that have the most brown branches. The branches start turning brown close to the trunk of the tree, travels down the entire length of the branch and then that branch easily snaps off the tree with just a little pressure. Also, the branches at the bottom of the trees started turning brown first and the browning has started to move up the tree. Unfortunately, I can't forward any photos, but the trees are starting to look bad. I did a little research and see that drought, insects or fungus might be the problem. It has been very dry, so I watered the trees a few times (long slow watering) and except for one little spider webby spot, it's not obvious to me what the problem is. Please advise what I should do so as not to lose my trees. Thanks!

Hi. I am the Livegreen Team leader and a teacher at Friendly Hills Middle School in Mendota Heights, MN. I am working with Conservation MN on a project this year and they recommeneded you. We want to start a pollinator garden with some native plants and need help from a gardener to create a plan, a sketch of the garden and which plants we should use. We are thinking of beginning the garden in an area on our school grounds that is roughly 25 feet by 20 feet in area. The other middle school in our district , Heritage Middle School, has created a similar garden that we would like to mimic and use with our students as a learning opportunity for them and our community. Do you have any gardeners who would be willing to meet me before or after school in Novemeber? I am available most days from 8:00 am-9:30 am (not on Tuesdays or some Weds) and daily after school anytime after 3:20. Thank you for your help, Katy Lynch and the FHMS Livegreen Team & Conservation Crew

I bought a milkweed this year and put it in a big pot on the deck. The leaves are dying back right now, and it's very tall and leggy. When and how do I prune this plant? I would like it to be bushy because it has only half a dozen stems right now. Will it grow more as it gets older? Thank you, Olivia

I want to schedule a tree trimmer for a couple trees in my backyard, but I believe you should not do that until after a freeze. My question is, have we had a hard enough freeze in Lucas County this fall so that it is OK to trim a large oak and hickory nut tree now? My understanding is if you trim branches off a tree before a hard freeze, insects can burrow into the areas where the limbs were cut off and the tree could die. I would appreciate any advice you can give me. Thanks!

Will you please send the 2025 County Fair schedule for Marion, Polk, Yamhill, Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties? As a part of our community service we schedule free community shred events and often hold them at our local fairgrounds. Thank you.