Q: Should we put lime in the bottom of the hole when planting our tomato plants? How much? Carole Webb, Alpharetta
A: Garden lime supplies calcium that prevents blossom end rot in tomatoes. It also counteracts soil acidity. However, you don't need much lime to accomplish either of these tasks, perhaps a tablespoonful per hole. Too much lime can be harmful. An alternative is to supply calcium with gypsum. I advise powdering a two inch by two inch piece of gypsum wallboard (Sheetrock, etc.) and mixing with the soil to prevent blossom end rot on tomatoes, squash, peppers and melons.
Q: What is the best type of sand to use following aeration of our bermuda lawn to help provide better drainage for the Georgia red clay? John Clopton, email
A: I don't recommend using sand after aeration. Experts say that you need to add LOTS of sand to make any difference in overall soil drainage: perhaps an inch or two spread over the whole lawn and incorporated thoroughly. You're looking at more than three cubic yards of sand per 1,000 square feet plus the work to till it eight inches deep. If your soil is hard you can either aerate thoroughly every spring or remove the grass and renovate the whole lawn. Details here.
Q: I’ve heard you recommend fertilizing fescue 3 or 4 times a year. Are your recommendations designed for water-soluble fertilizers like 10-10-10? With the higher nitrogen slow-release fertilizers, the pounds of nitrogen per thousand square feet would exceed the recommended guidelines. Susan Beasley, email
A: When applied at the correct rate, 10-10-10 or any turf fertilizer could be put down four times during the fescue growing season. Ten pounds of 10-10-10 should be applied per 1,000 square feet but only four pounds of 25-2-7 would be necessary for the same area. Both applications would result in one pound of actual nitrogen being put on. I recommend slow-release turf fertilizers for lawns. Rather than releasing nutrients all at once, like 10-10-10, turf fertilizer granules are coated to make them release nutrients over a two-month period.
Q: When we lived in Florida we used dung beetles to minimize dog deposits in the yard. It actually worked pretty well. Where can we get these critters here in Georgia? Mark Warner, email
A: Any cow pasture will have lots of dung beetles. Put a clothespin on your nose and use a short trowel to excavate under a cow patty to find them. There are dozens of dung beetle species so I don't know if beetles you'll find in a cow pasture will cooperate in removing dog "poo-lution". I have more information on how to identify dung beetles and one source of the insects here.
Q: An arborist has identified the tree at the front corner of my house as a Chinese plant with “serrulota” in the name. How and when should it be cut back? Bill Bailey, Atlanta
A: You have Chinese photinia, Photinia serrulata. It is a cousin to Japanese photinia, Photinia glabra, and to the hybrid Photinia x fraseri that we call "red-tip photinia". Like red-tip photinia, Chinese photinia is susceptible to the virulent leaf spot disease that can defoliate a shrub in no time. For that reason, I recommend you wait until June to prune. There's less rain then, which would keep leaves wet and exacerbate disease development. Make all of your pruning cuts at the point where the removed limb originates from another; avoid leaving stubs.
