Q: I have a friend with the nickname "Lotus". I'd love to find lotus seed to place in an aquarium in her room so she can watch it bloom. Jim Van Slyke, e-mail
A: American lotus, Nelumbo lutea, grows fine outdoors in ponds and moist spots in metro Atlanta. However, I don't think you can grow it indoors: there is too little light. The plant grows four to six feet tall. You could, however, grow it from seed in a shallow plastic tub outdoors. Buy seed online and vigorously scrape one end on a brick to remove some of the outer seed coat. Fill the tub halfway with clay soil and plant the seed an inch deep. Keep moist and round green leaves will soon emerge. I'd expect flowers next summer.
Q: I love to grow vegetables but am not very successful. This year, I have prepared a raised bed and filled it eight inches deep with Miracle Gro Garden Soil. The plants are small and not productive. Amir Sheikh, Alpharetta
A: Despite what the label says, this product is not soil. It is made from several organic materials but no sand, silt or clay. It must be mixed 50:50 with native soil to make a good growing environment. Otherwise it will absorb too much water and plants will suffer.
Q: For several years I've been mowing over what I thought were weeds. This spring I finally realized they are volunteers from my chaste tree. Will these babies bloom? Holly Bishop, e-mail
A: The seedlings will certainly bloom when they mature. This usually happens after a couple of years if they are in sunshine and get watered and fertilized occasionally in summer. If you have room, transplant a few to sunshine and observe how they bloom, choosing the best.
You can get spectacular blooms on a chaste tree, Vitex agnus-castus, if you maintain it as a large bush, not a small tree and give it a severe pruning in winter. The springtime new growth produces a profusion of bloom spikes in summer.
Q: While staining my second story deck I noticed a foul odor and a more than average amount of flies in the area. I noticed these disgusting stinkhorns growing in the mulch beneath. What can I do to eliminate them? Gale Douglas, Cherokee County
A: I think the best thing to do is stir up the mulch with a rake to dry it out and disturb the fungal mass that produces the stinky mushrooms. They are a type of fungus that decompose woody material. When conditions are right, the fungus "blooms" and exudes a foul odor to attract flies and beetles, which carry the spores to other conducive sites.
Q: What is the best herbicide for a home garden? It will consist of peas, beans, squash, okra, and tomatoes. Mary Adams, Wilcox County
A: If you're looking for an "organic" weed killer, Bayer Natria Grass and Weed Killer is a herbicidal soap that works quickly. Weed leaves will be brown a few hours after spraying. The label on Roundup Super Concentrate says it can be used around vegetables and fruits. Use a piece of cardboard to shield vegetables from either spray.
Listen to Walter Reeves Saturday mornings on AM 750 and 95.5 FM News Talk WSB. Visit his website, www.walterreeves.com, or join his Facebook Fan Page at xrl.us/wrfacebook for more garden tips.
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