Recently got a tomato plant, strawberry plknats, and a peppers plant. Some strawberries are starting to grow and there was nothing from the tomato plant yet.

But there was something about the pepper plant. What are the little buds in the middle of the pepper plant?

Hello there I received my Soil Test Report back and have a few questions for you. The recommendation is a 10-10-20 fertilizer that is not made so I see the suggestion to find one close. The preparation states I should till in the recommended amount of phosphate and potash into the top 4-6 inches. Not sure how much to add since the chart on the back page refers to nitrogen amounts. Can I do this with an aerator, since I have read a tiller will make your lawn all lumpy as time goes? Would I aerate and then apply the Phosphate and Potash raking it into the holes? I have been told that due to the extreme amount of shade on the property from large trees it will be extremely hard to grow grass in a large portion of the back yard so the contractor is suggesting Pachysandra as a ground cover. Just curious would Clethra Alnifolia Summersweet kept to about 3 feet be another choice allowing a bit more open ground when spaced apart? I don't find any information on the website regarding hydro seeding and wonder what your thoughts are? I have a bid for someone Hydroseeding and they said they mix all the fertilizer into the slurry and apply it that way. Do you recommend and lawn care companies in White Bear Lake who seed and do lawn maintenance. Thank you for your time Don Behr 651-429-0545 attachment

Not sure what this is. It was on just one branch on our Canada Red Cherry tree we got 8 years ago.

I'm noticing this yellowing and I'm not too sure what's causing it. I only water once a week and it stays in a shady or dark area. How do I fix it? Can I save him?

I want to plant clover in my lawn. All I can find on your website is how to kill it. Do you have information and guidance on organic lawns and varieties of clover suitable for growing in Henrico county.

We have a large old elm tree in our back yard. It is close to and shades much of our house and some of our neighbor's garage. Increasingly, we are seeing evidence each year of what we believe to be aphids. The evidence is gooey thick sticky sap (probably what is referred to as "honey doo"). Last year it drenched one of our vehicles on the parking pad (also shaded by this tree), and it is nearly impossible to remove. We need to remove our shoes after being outside to avoid messing the floor and carpet. Last year also saw a dramatic increase in this sap from the 5 other elms around our home (corner lot), and in many parts of Bismarck as well. We have researched internet for prevention, control, etc. and most of the treatments applauded by one source are nixed as useless by others. We are not very encouraged. So, in your expert opinion, (1) is there any prevention for aphids in large elm trees, and, (2) if not, how do we get rid of them? Incidentally, we also have one type of tall yellow fall flower that each year is loaded with red aphids that also produce this sap; no other flowering plants seem to be affected. And yes, we have some pretty protective ants on our property - and now I know why. (But they are not in our house.)

We would be truly thankful to learn about effective prevention and control. 

J in Bismarck

Hello, Every year I battle with blight on my tomato plants and I always lose. This year, it looks like my seedlings have it - pics attached. The bottom leave are turning yellow and falling off. They seeds were started in new pots and soil. I brought them outside on the deck 2 weeks ago to move them into the bigger peat pots and used new soil. It was after that the blight started. Could having them on the deck for 30 minutes cause this? What else could be causing it? More importantly, what can I do about it now? I hope you can help. Thanks!

We got a 6-7ft tall ‘Little Gem’ Magnolia 3 years ago and it looks like it isn’t growing at all. It had beautiful and abundant blooms the 1st 2 years and last year it hardly had 3-4. What might be wrong?

HI..we have some sort of weed, low growing to the ground, small white flowers, densely spread over the ground in a fern patch..ferns are just starting to form stems. We have also seen some of these in the lawn grass. Questions:1) can we just wait for the ferns to grow and block the sunlight to the weeds 2) is there a better way to get rid of these other than hands and knees pulling...want to protect the ferns

We had new sod installed last summer. I saw from your calendar that I should be using pre-emergent now. Any suggestion what kind to use? Also, what other tips do you have for me in taking care of this new sod? Note that we had new sod in 2013 and weeds completely took it over in those 7 years. I don't want that to happen again! We live in South Minneapolis and our yard is small. If you have other tips on watering or in how to get rid of the lines between sod bundles that were put down - let me know!