Ask The Expert
Country: Thailand Crop: WaterMelon Area cover: 10 acres Present situation: The fruits are about egg size. Problems: Badly attacked by 'Thrips', fungal, cranker Present climate: Cool at night, hot and humid in the daytime, no rainfall Present irrigation by dripping technique. Questions: What is the best comination from your products available as to remedize my problems.
1/16/200810:08:30 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Insect Control, Soil Questions
Kasem,Increase the organic matter and drainage of the soil by amending with a compost and sand mixture, follow up with our Soil Food Select 6-2-2, you might also want to look into adding potassium to the soil . For your thrip problem you can use our Organic Insecticide mixed with water and spray the entire crop or you can use our Anti Fuego Soil Conditioner and take care of the thrips and enrich the soil with the molasses and humate that is in the mixture. To rid the fungal problems we have a product called Potassium Bicarbonate which when mixed with water will take care of fungi and will be harmless to the plant or fruit. Make sure the plants are getting enough water from the drip system, mulch around the plants if needed to retain soil moisture. Once the crop has died out till the plants into the soil to help increase the organic matter. Hope this helps out.I live in Island Heights in New Jersey. For the last 7past month it rained and water destroyed the soil,which is more sand, and I'd like to know what I should do to improve my garden ?
12/19/20079:39:36 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
If the soil in your garden is mostly sand I would suggest amending it with straight compost either a manure based or vegetation based compost, till the compost in about 3-4" deep to figure out how many cubic yards you will need we have a cubic yard calculator on our website which you will need to enter in the length, width, and depth (3 or 4 inches which ever you prefer), it calculates the numbers and gives you the cubic yards needed for your garden. When tilling in the compost don't forget to add a good slow release organic fertilizer to add more nutrients to the soil.
I have two live oak trees, one in my front yard the other in my back yard. The one in the front is green and beautiful. The tree in my back yard looks like it died - all of the leaves turned brown. When my lawn care service came to inspect the tree (after I asked them to remove it) showed me that the tree is sprouting new green leaves. What is going on with my tree? We had a rainy summer and it gets direct sunlight. Brenda; San Antonio
10/9/200710:39:35 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Soil Questions, Tree Questions
Sounds like you may have soil problems, from what you have described I imagine it is a fungal problem. Try our Sick Tree Treatment and mix it with horticultural corn meal then spread the mixture over the root zone of the tree (basically as far as the branches go out) and water it in. If you do not see any results within a couple of weeks I would recommend you take a sample of the soil from around the tree and send it off for analysis. You could have a deficiency in some area that is causing the tree so much stress. Below is the link to Texas Plant and Soil lab, they are located in Edinburgh and are very good. Let me know how it goes.I have a problem with my evergreen shrubs in my front yard starting to lose needles etc. Its only on the left side of yard that the shurbs are suffering the right side of lawn there seems to be know problem they look healthy.Would the soil be to acidic? Thanks.
5/8/200711:07:34 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Evergreens usually like acidic soil, looking at your email address it looks like you are in
We have an acre lot southwest of San Antonio, Texas with a poor soil and a rich supply of grassburs. I know D Dr. says build up the soil to discourage the burs. We are on a limited income. What do you stock that we need for this problem. I have a p/u so I can haul materials if I could get them in bulk quantities and maybe be more economical. How long would it take to grow a blackeye pea crop on the garden area and till it in to enrich the soil there. Would it help that much anyway? Jim Russell ( a devoted Dirt Dr. fan.
5/3/20073:25:17 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
The answer to poor soil conditions is compost. Garden-Ville has a production facility over at the SAWS water treatment facility located on the south side of San Antonio. There we produce a great inexpensive compost that will do wonders for soil conditioning, how much area are you looking to condition? We offer a delivery service and can carry up to 15 cubic yards in a single load. The black eyed pea will set pods at 60 days and mature between 90-100 days, so realistically bringing in compost to condition the soil might cost a little more but it would give faster results than growing the peas and tilling them in. To further prevent the grass burs spread out corn gluten meal in the fall and spring as a pre-emergent to keep the seeds of the burrs from growing (just be careful that you are not growing anything else from seed when you apply the corn gluten meal as it will keep them from germinating also). If you would like pricing and delivery cost to your home let me know and I will dig up some information for you.Amy, I recently got 4 pallets of San Agustine grass to lay on a red dirt foundation with approx 2" of sand. I have heard mixed ideas on laying the sod. Would you recommend putting spaces between the sections to cover more ground, and if so, what is the best way to accomplish this. Also, how long will it take to fill in. Any guidance appreciated. Thank You, Michael
4/27/20074:19:39 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Lawn Questions, Soil Questions
Checkering the sod squares will cover more ground but you will have to wait for it to grow together to have a complete lawn. If you do not mind the wait it would be the most cost efficient way to go. It will probably take 3 months or more depending on the quality of the soil that the sod is laid down on, to help it along you can fill in the voided areas with compost or an enriched top soil and give the area a good application of fertilizer. Don’t forget to roll the squares down so that they will have an easier time rooting into the soil.
My home/yard in Prosper,TX is 3 years old and the soil is black clay. In March when digging about 1 foot down to move sprinkler lines I didn't see any earthworms. I've read they don't like clay and die out in the heat of summer. Could it be that coupled with the drought of last year, when I basically gave up watering my bermuda backyard,is the reason i'm not seeing any worms even with the good rain we had this winter? Would you recommend I buy some and spread them around the yard or facing a continuing drought would it be a waste of time? Is there a treatment to break up the clay that can be spread on the lawn to help the earthworms? Thankyou for your help. Terry
4/17/200710:53:34 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Compost, Lawn Questions, Soil Questions
Terry,Yes I would agree with you that with the drought and lack of watering to the soil the worms left and looked for soil that is cool and moist. You can release earthworms into your soil, but before you go through that you will want to amend the clay soil with compost to enrich and break up the soil. The compost will also help the soil retain water when the drought time comes. Spread a 1/2" thick layer of compost over the yard using the back side of a metal rake and water it in. If you do that once in the spring and once in the fall the condition of your soil will increase and the earth worms will start to come back. Using "organic" fertilizers along with the compost will also give the worms a good place to come back to since there will not be a lot of salt residue in the soil.What is the best type of fertilizer to use for indoor potted tropical plants? Also, what is the best type of soil mix to use?
4/9/200712:13:31 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Container Planting, Fertilizer, Soil Questions
Mary,Garden-Ville has a fertilizer called Soil Food Select 6-2-2, it is a great formula for potted plants that is enriched with natural ingredients to make it a slow release non burning fertilizer. A good soil to use for tropicals would be an acidic soil, you can mix the Garden-Ville Rose Soil and the Garden-Ville Potting Soil at a half and half rate and that will give you a good acidic mix that drains well.I went to our local nursery looking for gypsum to condition the soil in my flower beds. (They have not been turned over in years and have too much clay). My nursery did not have gypsum but suggested Garden-Ville Horticultural Humate in its place. My daughter is in charge of this project and is unfamiliar with Humate. Is this product going to condition the soil so it has less of that clay feel? How do we apply to these beds? We have all new shurbs and plants ready to plant - the bed is currently vacant. I am in N. Dallas.
3/26/20073:15:30 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Yes humate will help break up the soil in the beds, humate is humus which is thought by some to be important to the fertility of soils in both a physical and chemical sense. Physically, it helps the soil retain moisture, and encourages the formation of good soil structure. Chemically, it has many active sites which bind to ions of plant nutrients, making them more available.
I went to our local nursery looking for gypsum to condition the soil in my flower beds. (They have not been turned over in years and have too much clay). My nursery did not have gypsum but suggested Garden-Ville Horticultural Humate in its place. My daughter is in charge of this project and is unfamiliar with Humate. Is this product going to condition the soil so it has less of that clay feel? How do we apply to these beds? We have all new shurbs and plants ready to plant - the bed is currently vacant. I am in N. Dallas.
3/19/20074:35:40 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Yes humate will help break up the soil in the beds, humate is humus which is thought by some to be important to the fertility of soils in both a physical and chemical sense. Physically, it helps the soil retain moisture, and encourages the formation of good soil structure. Chemically, it has many active sites which bind to ions of plant nutrients, making them more available.
I have bermuda grass that's being taken over by my neighbors St. Augustine. How often and for how long would you recommend I water my lawn? I've heard that there are certain times of the year that watering is not necessary. Could you answer the question taking into account the different months of the year? I have a sprinkler system that I can set automatically. Thanks so much for your help.
3/19/20074:30:50 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Lawn Questions, Soil Questions
A good rule of thumb is to water deeply once a week for 15-20 minutes before sunrise.
I WANT TO MAKE SEVERAL RAISED VEGETABLE BEDS BUT, NOT SURE WHAT WOOD I SHOULD USE? WOMANIZED HAS CYANIDE SO DON'T WON'T TO USE THAT AND RAILROAD TIES HAVE CREASOTE. WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND AND WHAT SOIL MIX WOULD BE BEST SINCE I'LL BE BRING IT IN?
3/14/20075:03:03 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Last spring I built a raised bed for my 87 year old grandfather out of cinder blocks and mortar mix to hold it together, it was labor intensive to install but it made a good structure that he can sit on and put bags of soil, fertilizer and such that will last a long time. The soil mix that you will want to bring in would be a lawn and garden type of soil that is rich in compost and sand to allow proper drainage.
I have water pooling around my foundation and no vegetation on the soil as it located in a walkway and too close to the house, what soil would you recommend using to grade? I have heard that sand and manure our not a good idea to add to black clay soil. Thank you for your time, Carol
2/27/20075:34:48 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Landscape Questions, Soil Questions
Since it is in a walkway I would recommend that you make a pathway with rock, or decomposed granite, or some other type of aggregate. It would not do you any good to amend the soil that will be walked on. You can grade the area with a base rock foundation and lay some type of decorative rock to make a pathway that helps with runoff.
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