Dear Helen: Is it advisable to move a mophead hydrangea in winter to a different site in the garden?
L.R.
Dear L.R.: Theoretically, the dormant season is suitable for moving shrubs and trees and, if for some reason a plant must be moved at this time, then go ahead. Have the new site prepared ahead of time and choose a period of mild weather.
Having said that, if the move is not urgent, it would be my personal preference to transplant the hydrangea in early spring, when severe freezing weather is no longer likely.
Dear Helen: I grew kale successfully from seed this year, but did not harvest any. The leaves were eaten up by worms. I’ve seen very healthy kale in a nearby community garden. I love kale and want very much to grow plants like that.
S.D.
Dear S.D.: It’s a bit unusual for kale plants to be demolished by cabbage worms, unless the young, vulnerable stage of a planting coincides with the hatching of a hefty batch of the pale green caterpillars.
Adult cabbage worms (the familiar small, white butterfly) emerge early in the spring to lay eggs, which hatch in a few days into caterpillars that feed for around three weeks before pupating for about two weeks. There are three or more overlapping generations through September before the cabbage worms overwinter as pupae.
This pest chews ragged holes in the leaves of cabbage family plants and will be most damaging to young plantings. Keep a new kale planting covered with a floating row cover, insect mesh or bird mesh at least until the plants are large enough to sustain some damage without being ruined.
Kale can be seeded or transplanted early in the spring for early harvesting on plants that will grow large for overwintering. Repeat plantings in May work well in my garden for good fall eating and overwintering kale. Some gardeners plant again in summer for young leaves in winter.
Dear Helen: Do you know of a source for peanut seeds for planting? We grew them years ago. They are so much fun to dig up and they taste wonderful.
G.P.
Dear G.P.: Given a really hot spot and a light-textured soil, growing peanuts can be an especially interesting project for children. The flower stems drop to the ground to form clusters of peanuts beneath the soil surface.
The only catalogue I know of that lists peanuts is Dominion Seed House (W.H. Perron) in Georgetown, Ontario. dominion-seed-house.com.
Dear Helen: I’ve been looking in vain for Sub Arctic Plenty or Sub Arctic Maxi tomato seeds. I grew them in the difficult conditions of the Alberta foothills and I think they’d suit the Victoria climate too, with its (mostly) cool nighttime temperatures.
W.R.
Dear W.R.: The 2015 Stokes Seeds catalogue lists Sub Arctic Maxi, which they describe as the “Earliest large fruited” tomato for the far north. StokeSeeds.com.
William Dam Seeds had Sub Arctic Plenty in the 2014 catalogue. Next year’s catalogue hasn’t arrived yet, but it is likely to be listed there. Sub Arctic Plenty is present in their online catalogue, under Early Bush tomatoes. damseeds.com.
Dear Helen: Why is it necessary to apply lime to our gardens? Is dolomite lime the one to use?
P.G.
Dear P.G.: Except for those living in a fairly dry rain shadow of a mountain, we garden in a coastal region of high rainfall, where heavy rains leach calcium and magnesium (alkaline elements) down through the ground, rendering the soil acidic. These nutrients are also taken up by plants during the active growing season. Lime raises the soil pH, ideally for most plants to just slightly acidic levels.
Calcium carbonate, an inexpensive lime often sold as marking lime, has very little magnesium. Dolomite lime has calcium and magnesium at a ration of two parts calcium to one part magnesium (2:1).
Unless a soil is markedly deficient in magnesium, regular and exclusive use of dolomite lime can gradually move the calcium to magnesium ratio in the soil out of balance from the ideal of 7:1. An overbalance of magnesium can result in a calcium deficiency and compaction in the soil.
A solution would be to alternate between the two, or pre-mix them at the rate of two parts calcium carbonate to one part dolomite lime.
