Garden Troubleshooting

By Trish Grenfell, UC Master Gardener of Placer CountyQ:  I've been told to rotate the crops in my vegetable garden. Last year’s garden was very successful, and I don’t want to “fix it if it is not broken”.A:  Crop rotation, which has been around for centuries, refers to the practice of…

There are a number of problems that can arise when growing tomatoes. Here are some problems you may encounter and why they happen.1) BLOSSOM DROP When daily temperatures are greater than 90 degrees and nights are higher than 72 degrees, the dried-out blossoms simply fall off the plant. No blossoms = no…

By Elaine Applebaum, UC Master Gardener of Placer CountyQ: Last year the Master Gardener Office diagnosed nematodes as the cause of my tomato crop and told me to change the location of my tomato bed next year. Unfortunately, I forgot all about it and planted this year’s tomatoes in the same place. Help…

By Trish Grenfell, UC Master Gardener of Placer CountyQ: My tomatoes this year are flowering but producing no fruit. I have also noticed that the bees seem to be absent also. Is this why I am not getting any fruit? A: There are many reasons for blossom drop but lack of honeybees is not a major…

By Trish Grenfell, UC Master Gardeners of Placer CountyQ: There are dark spots on the bottoms of most of my tomatoes. What is wrong and what should I do? A:  Blossom-end rot is a disease that strikes tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, among others. It is not caused by a pest but instead by…

By Lynn Lorenson, UC Master Gardener of Nevada CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Spring 2012Forget those blankets, plastic sheets, and pine-bough teepees. Learn to love where you live. Choose plants to fit the climate. You will be rewarded with a healthy, beautiful landscape. References are found in…

Laurie Meyerpeter, UC Master Gardener of Placer CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Winter 2012Mistletoe. It’s weird, it’s poisonous, it’s a parasite, and yet we love mistletoe so much we manufacture plastic likenesses of the plant to hang it in our homes every winter! Is that weird or…

by Ann Wright, UC Master Gardener of Nevada CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Spring 2022 Weeds—these harbingers of spring can be tough garden pests, challenging even the most seasoned gardeners. There are many ways to manage these unwelcome plants that crowd our new seedlings, sometimes harboring…

By David Warman, UC Master Gardener of Placer CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Winter 2021            Every gardener and homeowner is concerned for the safety of themselves and their family, particularly their children and pets. Using pesticides responsibly will help…

by Elaine Kelly Applebaum, UC Master Gardener of Placer CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Spring 2023                                                           …