Q: I have a small area for a vegetable garden. Last year my garlic grew nicely but I would also like to squeeze in tomato plants and pole beans. But last year my tomatoes were stunted and dried out. Was it because I had them next to the garlic?
Heidi Naman
A: No, it isnt due to the garlic. I suspect your tomatoes didnt get enough water last year. It was a very long, dry hot summer. Tomatoes and pole beans need lots of water at their roots.
But by July garlic needs dry conditions. Thats when garlic leaves start to yellow and wither. This is a sign the garlic bulbs are getting ready to be harvested. If garlic is watered when its ripening your crop can develop rot. This means that just based on water requirements, tomatoes and pole beans arent good companions for garlic.
I wonder if you could place your tomatoes at one end of the garlic rows and pole beans at the other. This would work if you plant from north to south because the pole beans could be put at the north end and the tomatoes at the south end.
By the time the tomato plants get big, sunlight wont be such a crucial factor for the garlic and, in any case, the sun is so high in the sky at that time of year that most areas of vegetable gardens get sun unless very tall plants are placed to the south.
As well, you could separate the watering requirements by raising part of your veggie bed so that the garlic could be better drained while nearby crops are being watered. If this is just a hill (not a wooden-edge raised bed) you could rotate crops by relocating the hill every spring.
Q: What is the best type of manure to use for potatoes, tomatoes or root vegetables?
Gerry
A: The most important thing is that manure is old and thoroughly composted. One year is usually enough for it to mellow. Two years is safer. Its also vital to be very cautious with high-nitrogen manure around root vegetables unless you want small roots with extravagant foliage. Leafy crops do well with high-nitrogen feeding.
Many gardeners in farming areas where manure is free routinely use old manure in vegetable gardens. Horse manure is very gentle but higher in nitrogen and potash than phosphorous. It usually has more weed seed than other manures.
Sheep and Llama manure has a similar balance of ingredients. This is a hot manure which burns roots if not thoroughly composted. Another hot manure comes from chicken and turkeys and contains high phosphorous and nitrogen but low potash.
Steers manure is very balanced and can be used without getting an overdose of nitrogen. Its a good all-purpose manure for almost anything. So is pig manure: nutritionally balanced and very light. Unfortunately pig manure is hard to find.
Mushroom manure is generally good for vegetable gardens (though not for potatoes and other acid-soil lovers). Its quite alkaline occasionally very alkaline but for veggie gardens that grow moss in winter its a good corrective.
So, Gerry, my vote is for steer or pig manure since these are nutritionally balanced and can be used for many types of vegetables.
Q: If mason bees come out so early, what do they feed on? There is not too much out in my garden in February and I dont see how I could support the bees.
James Rowley
A: Mason bees and flowers are temperature sensitive. This means that flowers are triggered to open when the temperature is right for them to open. At this time, the temperature is also at the right level to prompt mason bees to hatch so that when they emerge, flowers are always waiting for them.
In mid-February in coastal BC and the Fraser Valley, witch-hazel is in full bloom, also hardy cyclamen, winter jasmine, winter heather and snowdrops. Other springflowers quickly follow. But even if you dont have any of these in your garden, mason bees travel and there are likely to be early flowers in neighbours gardens that would nourish the mason bees.
Q: Is an evergreen ivy? I want it in a pot on my deck to offer
privacy.
Helga
A: All ivies are evergreen. Ivy will provide you with quick, dense cover, but the plain green kinds and ones with large leaves get out of control very fast and need frequent cutting back. Small-leaved ivies are much easier to maintain, but they do grow more slowly.
Ivy also has a reputation as a seriously invasive plant.
