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Q. I
was told that ashes around the plants will discourage slugs, What kind of ashes?
A. Apparently
wood ashes keep the slugs away. Diatomaceous earth is very good for this purpose
too.
Q. We have impatiens in
our garden and would like to know if they are acid
loving plants. We have three years of mulch on our raised beds, and they seem to
grow slow.
Impatiens
like a soil that has a neutral pH. They do best in partial shade. Let the soil
dry out just a bit between waterings to encourage compact growth and profuse
flowering.
Q. How
do you move a hydrangea bush? When is best time to move it (spring or fall)?
A. The
best time to transplant your hydrangeas is in the fall or early spring. Take
care to remove as much of your hydrangea's root ball as possible, and water it
into its new site with an organic fertilizer
containing seaweed. Hydrangeas do best with some protection from the hot
afternoon sunshine -- so keep that in mind when picking out the new location for
your hydrangeas.
Q. We
put pine needles in the garden last fall. They didn't decompose. Is this going
to affect the quality of our soil? What can we do to encourage their decomposition?
A. Pine
needles breakdown very slowly. Pine needles, in general, have a high acid
content -- which is great for acid loving plants. You could mix some extra lime
to compensate for that. Next year ... try composting the pine needles separately.
Pine needles will break down a little quicker if exposed to the elements, so you
may want to pile them up at the base of acid loving shrubs and let the rain, sun
and snow help them along.
Other useful links ...
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone
Maps
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