Question: When should I pick ornamental gourds?
Answer: Ornamental gourds should be picked after the vines die but before a freeze. Wipe the gourds with a cloth dipped in a solution of one percent clorox to water. The stems should be left on . After the gourds are completely dry, they can be waxed with ordinary paste wax and polished lightly. They can also be  shellacked or painted.

Question: I have a cherry tree that has sunken lesions that ooze sap. Amber colored , sour  smelling gum oozes from these lesions. What shall I do for it?
Answer: There is a plant disease called bacterial gummosis or bacterial blast. It attacks fruit and nut trees but especially cherry trees. It is most serious on young trees but  especially cherry trees.  Bacterial canker gummosis is difficult to control. Prune out diseased branches. After each cut, sterilize pruning shears with alcohol. In the fall, spray with a fungicide containing basic copper  sulfate.

Question: Our oak tree has round balls on some of the leaves. Should we have them removed?
Answer: The round  balls that you see are galls, several hundred different  species of wasps,aphids, adelgids, midges, and the list goes on of insects that like to lay their eggs forming a ball.  Oak trees are the  favorite place for them to lay their eggs which form around  soft tissue of a leaf.
To reduce their number, gather and destroy the fallen leaves which we will see abundant soon.

Question: Can rice hulls be used as a mulch around tomatoes?
Answer: Rice hulls make a good mulch around almost any plants. Make sure the plant itself is not buried under the mulch.

Question: The roots of my iris are coming up from the ground, should I mulch them?
Answer: Your iris plants are telling you that they are too crowded and it's time to dig them up  and divide and replant, or give some away.

Question: How can I keep squirrels from eating my tomatoes?
Answer: Try spraying hot pepper around the bottom of your tomato plants. You can also spray hot pepper  right on your  tomatoes. Just be sure to wash the spray off before you eat the tomatoes.

Tip — To prolong the life of  cut roses, add two ounces of listerine to a vase of water to extend their life. Listerine contains sucrose which is food for the flowers and a bactericide.It's acidity promotes quicker uptake of water by the stems. For what more could a cut rose ask?