Q: My tomatoes this year are big, beautiful and flavorless. I planted the usual varieties but they don’t have good tomato flavor. Could it be all the rain? Kathleen Moriarty, email
A: The rain and overcast skies this summer certainly have something to do with it. Sunshine, available soil moisture, soil fertility and general growing conditions all affect tomato taste, but acidic soil seems not to be a dominant factor. The tomato variety you choose can be a very good indicator of acidic taste. Find one you like, whether locally or online, and stick with it each year.
Q: I recently purchased some hydrangeas and planted them in 30 gallon containers. Are the containers big enough to allow the hydrangeas to survive the winter? Steve Smith, email
A: Your container is a good size for hydrangeas that can be kept four feet high and four feet wide, so adjust your pruning to accomplish those dimensions. If you let the shrubs get much bigger, their water needs in summer will outpace the ability of their confined root system to supply hydration. There should be no problem with winter freezing.
Q: We have a twenty foot tall paulownia tree in our back yard. I’ve been told that they are a very invasive plant. It is growing twelve inches every week. Should we let it grow or cut it down? Bill Bennett, Marietta
A: The paulownia will eventually bloom and have massive clusters of seed pods. The seeds will sprout all over your neighborhood in unwanted places. As it gets older, the leaves and small limbs from your tree will fall and be messy to clean up. I recommend you cut the tree down and remove all root sprouts that emerge over the next couple of years.
Q: I have a problem caring for my peaches because I have gotten into beekeeping and can’t use pesticides anymore. I get brown rot and worms in the peaches. Betty Overby, email
A: It is TOUGH to get a crop of peaches without spraying fungicide in spring to prevent brown rot. The worms you see are the larvae of peach curculio, which is equally tough to control without regular insecticide sprays, whether organic or synthetic. You can protect your bees by spraying all insecticides in the evening. Your best bet for chemical-free pest control is thorough sanitation (removing diseased fruit and twigs when seen) and praying for a dry spring each year. I have a guide to pest control on fruit trees at bit.ly/sprayfruit.
Q: A battle rages between my dearest friends. The line is drawn between South Georgia natives and Atlanta-raised folks. Fresh, dried, green, beige, or speckled: what is the difference between a butterbean and a lima bean? Bonnie Bennett, email
A: I conducted an unofficial poll with 10 friends. Five said butterbeans are the large beans with thick skins and five said butterbeans are small and have thin skins. So I turned to Arty Schronce at the Georgia Department of Agriculture for the final word. Like me, Arty remembers from elementary school the gallon cans of large, mealy beans, clearly labeled lima beans. For him, butterbeans are small, with a more delicate flavor than coarse lima beans. His favorites include 'Dixie White' and 'Dixie Speckled' butterpeas. Officially, pole beans, lima beans and butterbeans are the same plant, Phaseolus vulgaris, only differing in plant form, pod size and pod length.
