The Frugal Gardener

Hi Gardeners!

Welcome back to the garden and welcome to all our new members -- there's quite a few of you! And Happy 4th of July to all of you living in the States.

This month we'll look at pruning back tomato plants, defeating Japanese beetles, and choosing the right plant for the right zone. I also have a quick and easy recipe for herbed potatoes that you'll love.

Ready to get your hands dirty? Let's go!

I wanted to take a minute to show you how to prune your tomato plants for maximum fruit growth.

This is an easy technique and you don't need a special tool for it. Just a thumbnail will do it. See this sucker that's sitting between the stem and branch? It's positioned right in the center where the stem and branch form a "Y".

Take your thumbnail and pinch it off. That's it! How much easier could it be? You'll want to look for these suckers every day and pinch them back the same way. The reason you want to do this is because it will concentrate the efforts of the plant on producing juicy tomatoes instead of just leaves.

Follow this link for a video demonstration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WTCDFxPg8Y

On Monday your roses and tomatoes are doing well. The plants are thriving with deep green foliage and beautiful flowers and fruit.

By Tuesday your gorgeous foliage looks like a lace doily and the plants are starting to die.

What happened?

Japanese beetles are what happened, friend, and they're the bane of many a gardener's existence. How do you spot them? They're very distinctive: a metallic green head with a copper colored body.

And they LOVE to munch on your plants!

Adult beetles eat the tissue in between veins on the leaves and can deep six a plant overnight.

So how does the infestation start? The first beetles begin their feeding frenzy right away. While they're enjoying their smorgasbord, an odor an odor is released to attract later-emerging adults and, without warning, tons of beetles call a single plant their buffet.

Within hours, females release a sex pheromone giving the free for all call to more beetles. A few days later, those same females dig into the ground to lay eggs, then return to eating your plants. This cycle occurs until 40-60 eggs have been laid.

There are those out there who suggest hanging pheromone traps to draw beetles in and trap them in a bright yellow bag. I think it just attracts more beetles. The best thing I've seen to control Japanese beetles is to fill a container with hot water and dish soap and shake them into it. The way to do this is to go out to the plants where you see them feeding (they usually feed the heaviest in the evening), take hold of the leaves they're feeding on and shake them into the container of hot soapy water. The soapy water will drown them.

I've had some subscribers write in and ask why their plant hasn't performed the way they had hoped. My first question is what type of plant they have and the second is which zone they're in.

Not long ago I was asked about hydrangeas and why a plant would flower beautifully the first year and then, boom!, nothing the next year but foliage.

The answer is that the hydrangea variety she had was meant for a warmer zone than she was in. Once we cleared up that mystery, she went to the garden center, bought a new plant and replaced the old one.

It has bloomed beautifully this year and I'm sure she'll have years of gorgeous color.

Speaking of color, take a look at the next photos.

These two plants are the same variety -- Everlasting -- and are in the same bed with the same soil. One bush has pinkand blue flowers and the other is blue only.

Why?

Because of the acidity in the soil. Hydrangeas will turn blue when the soil is most acid. The pink comes from alkalinity. If you want blooms that are dark, ultra marine blue add something like miracid to the soil and you'll get that kind of bloom color.

This "recipe" is so easy it should be illegal.

While I advocate using fresh, local ingredients, there are times when you're out of time or produce is out of season.

When I want some herbed potatoes in the winter,I buy a can of sliced potatoes (I like Del Monte), put them in a pan with some butter, salt and pepper and then add herbs. The herbs can be dried or fresh and this side dish takes about 5-7 minutes to prepare.

I served it for Christmas dinner last year with a standing rib riast and my daughter was shocked at how good they tasted -- and how easy it was!