Q: I'm curious about your Web page denouncing beer, soda and ammonia as fertilizer. I don't disagree with your soda and ammonia thoughts, but the carbohydrates in beer might be useful. I am into bonsai, and my well-learned sensei says that beer will do a tree good!

— Eric Schrader, San Francisco

LOUIE FAVORITE / Staff (ENLARGE)
Going native — as in planting natives like this Piedmont azalea — is generally a smart approach to landscaping.
WALTER REEVES WEEKEND GARDENER Walter Reeves is a TV and radio gardening show host and former DeKalb Extension agent. Listen to Reeves Saturdays on WSB-AM (750) from 6 to 10 a.m. Call 404-872-0750 to ask questions about lawns, gardens or pests or e-mail georgiagardener@yahoo.com Sign up for his free garden newsletter at www.walterreeves.com. EXTRA: • Walter Reeves' Fertilizer Calendar Hybrid Bermuda grass doesn't produce seed  For more salvia blooms, trim faded spikes  Mowing won't thicken St. Augustine  Fig vine has drawbacks  Little bugs can be a big nuisance for strawberries  • Complete list of Reeves columns

A: One of my rules for success is to never argue with a sensei, particularly when he is correct! Beer does contain carbohydrates that can break down into plant nutrients. In a localized spot, like a bonsai root zone, beer could supply significant plant food. It's up to you to figure out how much beer to use without harming the roots with alcohol or attracting fungus gnats. It's when beer is suggested as a lawn tonic that I demur. Unless you use many gallons of beer per thousand square feet, the lawn won't get much benefit.

Foil diggers

Q: Either rabbits or squirrels are uprooting my recently planted pansies. Is there anything I can do?

— George Gaccione, e-mail

A: Try removing the mulch around the plants and laying 4-inch-wide, 2-foot-long strips of chicken wire between your plants. Anchor the wire with "hatpins" made from wire clothes hangers. Re-cover the chicken wire with mulch. The animals will have a hard time digging anything up thereafter.

Sprinklers

Q: I just moved here from New York, and I have a question about our sprinkler system. Most of the zones are set to irrigate for 40 minutes twice a week. As winter approaches, how should I adjust?

­— Mr. Davenport, e-mail

A: The 40-minute irrigation was appropriate for newly installed sod, but you should have been advised to eventually wean the landscape to a single deep watering per week. The length of watering is best determined by how much is applied in an hour. At this point, no watering is needed by any part of your landscape except newly planted annuals or woody plants, and those beds/plants should be watered individually. My best advice is to turn off the system until summer returns.

Acorn woes

Q: I have a problem with acorns dropping into my groundcover beds. Would a pre-emergent inhibit their sprouting in spring? We spend so much time on our hands and knees pulling oak "babies."

— Karen Whitehead, Atlanta

A: Weed expert Mark Czarnota says he's not aware of a pre-emergent that is labeled to control oak seedlings. In my opinion, you could try one of the pre-emergent products like trifluralin (Preen) or benefin + oryzalin (Amaze), which control broadleaf weeds, and see how they do. I'd be very interested in your results.

Native plants

Q: Could you provide me with some reputable native-plant sources from which I could order? I will be gardening in Zone 6, in a woodland setting. I am looking for Piedmont azalea as well as a wild yellow azalea.

— Susan Knight, e-mail

A: My friends at the Georgia Native Plant Society have compiled a good list of local and online vendors at http://www.gnps.org/SOURCES2.HTM. Another way to get native plants is to rescue them from sites that are about to be developed. The society sponsors regular field trips to spots in the metro area where you can remove free plants to your heart's content!