Ed Hume Answers Your Gardening Questions
Ed Hume cannot answer all of the garden questions he receives, but questions
of general interest will be answered here every month. Email your questions
to HumeSeeds@aol.com. Please
note: we do not accept attachments.
Before submitting a question, be sure to check the index
of previous questions and answers or search our
site using key words. Many questions have already been answered
here on the site.
Other November Links
 Could you help us? We are
having a problem with a woodpecker that loves to peck on our house. Do you
have any suggestion on how we can get rid of them?
 If they are actually trying
to make holes in the house, wrap those areas with cheesecloth. If on the
other hand they are sharpening their beak or making noise to let others know
of their presence, you can cover those areas with foam.
Can wild huckleberries be
transplanted? Also is there a "male and female" plant? I ask this because
where I pick, two bushes side by side can have distinctly different size
and quantity of berries.
Yes, they can be transplanted
with a root ball of soil, but you need to start with small plants. The large
ones usually have not developed enough of a compact root system, and the
extensive root system (which is cut back) cannot support the larger sized
plants. The best time to transplant is during the months of late October,
November, December, January and February. One plant will do fine, but two
is better. Sometimes quantity and quality are affected by previous year's
yield and whether the berries were picked or went to seed.
I have an apple tree that
looks very bad ,it's scraggly and the leaves have black spots. It needs pruning,
I just don't know how to take care of it. Can you advise me as to how I can
bring this tree back to it's original beauty. I don't know how to prune the
tree either but I'm learning. So any advice would be very helpful. I'm not
sure what type of apple tree it is but the apples are beautiful and very
tasty.
It sounds like the tree has
'apple scab' a disease that affects the leaves, fruit and can even appear
on the branches. Your 'county extension agent' will have a bulletin on when
to spray and what to use. They will also have a bulletin on pruning and shaping
fruit trees. These two information sheets will be of a lot more help, then
I could ever give you by email. The Cooperative Extension Service' in your
area will be listed in the white pages of your phone directory, under County
Government.
New Zealand Spinach
Wow do I love New Zealand
Spinach. If it isn't true spinach, what is it? I couldn't get enough of it.
I live on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska and it grew and grew and never bolted.
It is so succulent and tasty. Please tell me more about it and how you came
upon it. I will be trying to find all I can get to give to friends. Great
for Alaska!
Yes, we sell a lot of the
seed throughout Alaska and here in the Pacific Northwest. Tetragonia expamsa
is a native of New Zealand, discovered by Captain Cook in the 1770's. He
found it to be a valuable source of vitamin C.
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