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Glyphosate Damage
Problem:
My tomato plants are 4-feet tall, thick
and lush, and loaded with green
tomatoes, but this problem has started
in the last week or so (see photo).
Rhonda Austin
Dallas
Solution: Kevin Ong, plant
pathologist, Texas A&M, says that the
bleaching of the base of the leaves in
your photos is a symptom that is
consistent with glyphosate damage.
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in
Roundup and several other herbicides.
Even if you haven’t used Roundup (or
another glyphosate product) in or near
your garden, perhaps you used a sprayer
that previously contained Roundup. Very
tiny amounts of glyphosate can have an
adverse affect on tomatoes. There is not
much you can do about that now. In the
future, be sure to avoid using the same
sprayer in the vegetable garden that you
used to spray Roundup or other
herbicides and avoid spraying Roundup in
areas adjacent to your vegetable garden.
It is even possible that a neighbor
spraying from across the fence could
have unknowingly caused your problem
since glyphosate particles can drift
onto your tomato plants from many feet
away.
Shady Tomatoes
Problem: My above-ground garden is in full sun. The okra and
peppers love it, but not my tomatoes. I
want to put a shade over them. What
value block is best for this area? I
read the magazine religiously; however,
I could have missed this article. If
not, it might make a good one. Thanks
again, and we love y’all’s work.
Griz Harkins
Boerne
Solution:
We do not recommend using shade cloth or
any other material to shade tomatoes
because they require at least 6 hours of
full sun to produce a crop. The one
exception to that rule would be to
provide shade to newly set out tomato
transplants in mid summer until they
become established. If your tomato
plants are not doing well this spring
then you need to dig deeper to find the
problem. You could start by mulching the
plants, maintaining even soil moisture
and checking for signs of disease or
insect damage.
White Lies
Problem:
Please clarify: I was told not to plant
any color of bearded iris near white
iris because the whites are dominant and
will cause the other irises to change
color to white. Is this true or false?
Edna Brown
McKinney
Solution:
False. Bearded irises do not change from
their original color to any other color.
They reproduce vegetatively as new
rhizomes develop. So the color of the
blooms will be the same as the parent.
However, if the bed is not properly
cared for, the white irises may flourish
and choke out the others.
Stabilize Block Garden
Problem:
I am interested in the article in the
May 2010 edition — “Larry’s U-Block
Garden.” We are in Victoria and have
black gumbo, clay soil. As this stuff
dries and gets wet, everything moves —
fences, landscapes, trees, foundations,
etc. We can’t just set something on top
of the ground without tying it down. Any
suggestions from you or Larry?
Joyce Henneke
Victoria
Solution:
Larry has the same type soil as you do
and his U-block garden has never shifted
since it was constructed. Larry did put
gravel over the soil and tamped it well
before building the beds. You could
probably do the same thing with either
gravel or sand to help minimize
shifting.
Snails
Problem:
Our yard and garden is infested with
snails and we can’t seem to get rid of
them. Hope you can help!
Loretta Holt
Nolanville
Solution:
Snails and slugs have been a problem for
many gardeners this year, in part due to
the unusually wet winter and spring we
experienced. There are several
insecticides that are helpful in
controlling the garden pests, but we
prefer to trap them using traps baited
with beer. Just place some shallow
dishes filled with beer in places where
you have noticed the snails. The snails
will crawl into the traps, consume the
beer and pass out. Be sure to remove and
destroy the pests on a regular basis.
What you do with the leftover beer is up
to you!
Goodbye Hosta Blooms
Problem:
Although I like the hosta plants, I
couldn’t care less for the flowers. Is
there any reason I have to leave them
on? I would prefer to cut them off
instead of letting them flower.
Jennifer Hays
E-mail
Solution:
According to William Scheick, author of
our recent article on hostas, you can
snip off the flowers, if you wish.
Although some hummingbirds visit them,
hosta flowers are of limited general
benefit to wildlife. Moreover, because
flower production is a costly
extravagance for any plant — basically
moving precious resources from bottom to
top — preventing hosta flowering and
fruition can conserve these resources
and foster offset rhizomess.
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