Homeowner Forum / Lawn and Garden / July 2008

I got very frutrated with an on going mealy bug explosion in my phals so i
figured i would just soak a plant in 99.9% rubbing alcohol for a few minutes
and see what happened. Not sure if that was a good idea but it been 24 hours
and it still looks sort of alright. Who thinks it ...

I looked at the FAQ, tried to access "Garden Beans", but was unable to
access the web site...
I am growing runner beans for the first time for quite a few years, have
plenty of flowers, but up to now only one tiny bean has "set".

Last month ( mid June ) I had applied Seven dust to my grapevine
due to Japanese Beatle infestation. I applied by hand ( gloved ).
I grabbed a handfull at a time and just tossed it across the whole
of the foliage and grape clusters. Here it is mid July and I still

Green catapillars are eating my basil and lettuce leaves.  I haven't
usd any pesticides.  What are they and any suggestions?  I'm in DC
zone 6 I believe.  I lost the link to the zone chart.
I found one green cat eating the leaves of my basil a couple of days

having now fenced off the veggie garden from the wallabies, we are now
benighted by pairs of wild ducks on the prowl. they enjoy chinese vegetables
and mizuna. isn't that nice?!
wondering if anyone has had successful anti-duck experience. are they afraid

The leaves of my datura are being eaten, leaving the veins untouched.  
have examned the plant and cannot see any of the usual pests (spide
mite, mealy bugs, aphids or caterpillars).  I suspect earwigs but woul
like some help please

Here is yet another apple tree question. My old apple tree has a bazillion
apples on it. Question: Exactly what do I do to it to keep worms from eating
the apples? Every year, almost every apple has one or more worms in it. Is
there a spray that can be safely used? And - here is ...

About five years ago, yet another plant plague seemed to hit southern
California - the ubiquitous oleander bushes were all sagging,
apparently from some internal bacterial infections spread by
sap-sucking insects.

I have grown, for the first time, the Purple Bell Vine - how do I tak
seeds for next year please?  Thanks, Jayce
--
jaycee

Need some advice on how to remove kikuyu from the lawn. My backyard has a
large lawn section where the kikuyu grass has taken over.
Its located on a terraced bed above the paved courtyard. Quite a tricky
location to get to actually as there are no steps leading to it - only big

I have bugs and I don't know what they are.
I see them in the dish under the pot when I lift it.  They are
extremely small.  They do not fly or jump.  I looked at them through a
magnifying glass and they are dark with antennae on their heads.  The

Hope this is a good enough description:
Green fleshy leaves,look a bit like cactus leaves, with regularly
spaced spikes along each edge.Leaves are about 3 feet long and radiate
to cover a diameter of about 3 feet. From centre of plant, three or

1> I'm watering once every 3-5 days. I wait 'til the soil feels very
slightly damp (even touching on dry), then I water heavily. Good
practice?
2> It drops a lot of flowers, but still looks healthy. Is this normal

We need to empty our swimming pool because the water has become to dirty to
clean (we haven't kept it topped up with chemicals for the last few weeks).
There's' about 1m3 of water - is it OK to use for watering as it did have
chemicals in it earlier in the season and the chlorine ...

It's taken longer to build than Rome but it's out there:
www.hillhousenursery.com