lawn drainage

QuestionHi - I live outside of Chicago and recently moved into a new home. It was built 4 or 5 years ago and my lawn doesnt drain well. When digging in the flower beds around the house I noticed alot of

Hill needs to be fixed or graded

Questionhill problem QUESTION: I live in Orlando Florida. I have a hillside by our pool, I am trying to head off a potential problem. The pool has not started cracking yet. However each year the ground slopes

cat urine in garden

QuestionRead your hydrated lime solution to the cat urine smell in the garden. I would like to know if the lime is at all toxic to cats? My garden is my cat litter box and that is not going to change so

Fungus in soil

QuestionWhat is the best way to treat/eradicate white (bright white, colour of white paint - it does not look organic!) Fungus in soil AnswerHi Oonagh, Many fungi that grow on decomposing matter in your soil are n

Blue Hydrangeas - Time it takes to change

QuestionI am adding aluminum sulfate to my hydrangea bed (around plant drip lines) to change color to blue. All of my plants already have very large bloom heads and are very bright magenta pink. I sprinkled a couple

Some sort of disease in my soil

QuestionIn one of my garden beds when I dig it up there is a lot of white stuff which smells a bit like rotting veg. The bed is dry but it seems to be spreading. I thought at first it was a rotting begonia, but it i

Large rocky, weedy, backyard

QuestionQUESTION: Ive moved into a house that has a very large, very uneven (rocky-like)backyard in the Central Valley in California. I need to even out the backyard and remove all of the weeds, which are pretty mu

dolomitic lime

QuestionI was looking for dolomitic lime for my garden, I was sold hydrated lime, is hydrated lime the same thing? thanks Eugene Riotte AnswerHi Eugene, It is not the same thing. Hydrated lime is used for pic

Flower Beds

QuestionWhat is the difference between top soil and garden soil? Which soil would be better for our flower beds? Should we ask the supplier what is in the garden soil to make it worth more? AnswerHi Kevin, In

Potted Plants

QuestionI have tries to grow some stimmy plants in pots. I fertilize a mixture of soil & potting soil, in the pots. The plants grow very well for a time, but suddenly, within a few days die. They look great & then s

bare spots

Questionmy lawn is only 3 yrs old (new home) and i am having problems with bare spots/ thin spots in my lawn my soil is very rocky...how do i fix all the bare spots? its about 60% of my lawn AnswerHi Chris, Bare sp

barn lime vs. ag lime

Questioni recently limed a food plot on our property ,as i grabbed a bag i noticed it said BARN LIME on the back it states limestone, from wisconsin,no additives.I live in central illinois is this going to work the

Bare spots, dogs, and full sun

QuestionI have 4 dogs that spend a lot of time in my fenced backyard. I also have intense heat in the afternoons in the summer. We have never had grass in almost 1/2 of the area, the soil is very rocky a

Newly planted Live oak trees

QuestionWe just recently planted 16 live oak trees about 10-15 feet tall girth is about 3-4 inches. I have noticed in the past week that one of the trees in particular has lost 80-90% of its leaves and there is a br

St Augustine grass freeze problems

QuestionHi, I live in NE FL and have St Augustine grass. This winter was harsh in NE FL. The grass greened up for a couple of weeks, then freezing weather set in again. The grass is not fully comin

Garden Worms - Lumbricus terrestris UK

QuestionHello My uncle called tonight regarding his neighbours patio and his lawm garden next door. His neighbour complains of spring worms on her patio. I am a qualified Biologist but have not practiced for some y

Pyramid Cedars

QuestionI have two Pyramid Cedars about 3 feet tall that my girlfriend planted 2 years ago. She lives in Mississauga Ontario. On the inside of the cedars there are dry leaves (dead patches) and turning brown almost

could it be clay soil thats killing my trees and plants

QuestionQUESTION: Hello Mr. Crowder, I live in Davenport, IA (52807) in a relatively new subdivision, the front yard (north facing) had an ornamental plum that did not bloom after winter exactly a year ago or as was

grass covered bank well established

QuestionI have allergies to grass and trees and since my wife died I have to mow the grass. I did hire a guy for a while but he said my one bank was just to hard too mow and he hurt his back and will no longer do it

iron is soil killing grass & plants

QuestionQUESTION: Savannah GA. Just found out that my yard has iron in the soil that was brought in at time of construction. My grass is black in areas and dead in others. I have centipede and fertilize as recommend