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Bob Morris

Bob Morris

Bob Morris is a horticulture expert living in Las Vegas and professor emeritus for the University of Nevada. Visit his blog at xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com. Send questions to Extremehort@aol.com.

Many factors affect tomato production

Q: I noticed last year that I didn’t get nearly the same number of tomatoes that I had harvested in previous years. I have a raised bed with a blend of about 4-to-1 cheap compost and our desert soil. Each year I have continued adding compost from my own yard and vegetable scraps. Last year the tomato plants themselves grew well and I saw lots of flowers, but the tomatoes just never developed.

Iron sulfates can stain several surfaces
BOB MORRIS

Question: My husband used a fertilizer that stained our pavers and the bottom of our pool in spots. Do you know of a solution to remove those stains?

Aphids should disappear when temperatures rise
By BOB MORRIS GARDENING

Q: I attempted to grow watermelons for the first time last summer and everything was looking good until it got hot. These tiny black specks appeared on the back of some of the leaves. I was told it was aphids but they weren’t sure. I hope you can see them clearly from the picture I’ve attached. Should I use insecticidal soap as recommended or something else? 

Garlic stores well, must be eaten fast if fresh
BOB MORRIS

Question: I know garlic will keep four to six months in cooler climates. Because I don’t have a root cellar, what are my options for storing garlic?

THE LATEST
Soft-skinned fruits can be wasted on the ground
BOB MORRIS

Question: I purchased an assortment of tomatoes, and they are doing well. Folks like to put them in cages, but I have always found them more bother than they are worth. So I let them sprawl and go where they want.

Distilled water can deflocculate soil
BOB MORRIS

Question: In a past posting on your blog, you mentioned that using 100 percent distilled water for container plant irrigation might mess with the potting soil. What did you mean by that?

Plants need fertilizer regularly to grow, produce
By BOB MORRIS GARDENING

Earlier in the season, around mid-March, I was encouraging you to plant your own onion transplants and grow your own onions. They are so much better tasting than store-bought onions. I gave the readers here and on my blog some varieties to choose from; many are available from seed, which should be started in about mid-October, the same time as you would plant garlic.

Bird-attracting grape causes hot tub woes
BOB MORRIS

Question: I bought a house last December that has two large grape vines growing over a pergola that covers a hot tub. Last summer when the vines were producing grapes, the birds were unbearable.

More expansive root system will help saguaro
By BOB MORRIS GARDENING

Q: I have a saguaro cactus with three big arms growing from it leaning toward the west. On the east is my house; it shades the cactus from the morning sun. I also have been watering on the house side of the saguaro, the upslope side, and letting the water run downhill into the roots. I water about three or four times a year and water very slowly.

Beans’ stem rot could be cold, cutworms
BOB MORRIS

Question: I found a couple of beans in my garden that have been devoured at the base. Could it be some sort of soil-borne larva or possibly a virus?

Pull young sprouts at trunk to keep numbers down
By BOB MORRIS GARDENING

Q: I have an African sumac that has sprouts coming up from the roots. Besides trimming them every time they get above the soil level is there anything I can do to stop these sprouts from popping up?

Nematodes nearly impossible to nullify
BOB MORRIS

Question: Last fall, I pulled one of my cucumber plants. One of the plants definitely had strange roots, which I am almost positive were caused by root-knot nematodes. Are these nematodes harmful to humans and my dog?

Fill lawn’s low spots with same type of soil
By BOB MORRIS GARDENING

Q: My hybrid Bermuda grass lawn is flat , yet it seems bumpy when I mow. Can I get it as flat and smooth as a putting green? Should I fill these low spots with sand or something else?

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