General lawn care

QuestionLarry: During this time of year, we are all bombarded with all kinds of advise on how to care for our lawn. I have about an acre of lawn. Some of the lawn is in hard soil, and most is in good topsoil. Most

Larry,I live in southeast...

QuestionLarry, I live in southeast PA (Philadelphia area) and grow vegetables in raised bed gardens. My double-dug beds started as poor rocky and sandy soil, and have spent many years amending the soil w

drainage tiles

QuestionI live in a co-op housing and need to know what will happen if someone disrupts or removes some of our river rock which is about 2 to 3 feet deep and places cement pavers on top, this area is about 3 to4 ft.

preparing new garden plot

QuestionI am planning to start a garden in a new spot that hasnt been tilled in probably 40 years. What is now lawn used to be a hog lot. Grass there is always thick and green. 1) How do I go about removing the gr

Soil compostion for a berm

QuestionWhat soil composition should I use for a berm? My dirt mover/excavator says I should build it with sand and then fill the holes with a good loam, compost mixture. It seems to me that the trees and bushes I p

dying arborvitae

QuestionAbout 18 months ago in late farll I planted 51 arborvitae around the perimeter of a fenced in back yard. By the end of the following summer, 15 had to be replaced; they were browning up -- from the out

more on dying arborvitae

QuestionDear Larry Thank you so much for your prompt reply. It is pouring with rain as we speak and Im watching my trees drown. Unfortunately, being on the back side of a berm next to the street, there i

Soil over grass

QuestionHello, We had a local gardening company do some landscaping in our yard a month ago. They put in a new bed in the front (added soil and mulch) and planted a holly tree, some laurels, boxwoods, and a globosa

Soil for native plants in S.E. QLD

QuestionHi, Larry! I am a landscape architect working in Camira (near Brisbane) and design both exotic and native gardens. Which soil would you recommend for native plants in general? So far, I specified a mix

I have planted some young...

QuestionI have planted some young vinca flowers. At the base of the plant are many, perhaps 10 to 20 bugs that are perhaps a quarter of an inch in length that seem to be eating the flowers and they are dying.

soil amending

QuestionWe are starting a new garden (new home). The soil is not the best but not really clay. Here is the problem - we have planted several shrubs and have had to replant a few because of the fact that when it rain

Slow growth of plants

QuestionHi, I find that whenever I plant something, it takes a very long time (1 year or more) for it to stabilize and grow tall. Is the soil lacking nutrients? I add compost & Osmocote while planting new plants & w

hydrangeas-poor soil?

QuestionHello Larry, We live in Eugene, Oregon, and have several mophead hydrangeas in a mostly shady, northern exposure border, alongside our house. Earlier in the summer, the flowers were blue, and the leaves wer

Mulches Hi Mark;

Question Hi Larry I have been using cyprus mulch on my flower beds for years. Yesterday I got a real bargin on cocoa bean shells. The bags had no info re use. Then I realized that I had used the cocoa shells

kill the soil

QuestionDo you know of a product or home-made mixture to completely kill the soil...in alleys etc.. that isnt so terribly expensive. Thanks, Bill AnswerHi Bill to completely sterilize the soil or fumigate it, cullt

bad - infested/diseased soil???

Questionthere is something wrong with the soil in one of my planters in front of the house. I dont know if there it is diseased or infested with pests or both. Everything I try to grow there seems to start out

conditioning ohio-clay soil

QuestionI bought a load of soil for new beds last fall that was suposst to have conditioners in it to compensate for the clay base. The soil was moist, dark in color and crumbled very fine, looked good. I planted ma

Red clay

QuestionDear Larry, You didnt have a description of your expertise so I dont know if you can answer this question or not. But here goes: My yard is totally made up of red clay and it has been very hard to get gr

to much sand ahhhh

Questionhi how you doing. iam a expert in autobody field fact the only one in there. any way my trouble is my back yard. i brought this house 2 yrs ago. did up the front yard came outgood . the back yard ahhhhh. i h

Grub Control

QuestionHello Mr. Clark, Im not sure if you can help me or not. I have white grubs in my lawn. Ive been told that I cannot do anything about them unitl July when I can spray for them. Is that true? Is there anything