ASK THE PLANT MASTERS

Roger Hart from Mole Hill Farm 

Q: I’ve been told to add "leaf mold" to my soil as a defense against nematodes. Does that mean to just old use old leaves that are left over from the fall? Do I just pile them around my tomato plants?

A: The term "leaf mold" technically refers to composted leaves but, yes, you can use last falls leaves. It is a very good practice to add leaves- or other types of organic material such as compost, straw or well-rotted manure to your garden soil. If you havenʼt planted the tomatoes yet, work the leaves into the soil before putting the plants in the ground; otherwise, carefully work the leaves into the soil around the base of the plants, taking care not to damage the roots and into the rows between the plants. The organic matter will not only add beneficial micro-organisms to the soil for pest control, they will improve the soil texture as well- improving water retention and drainage, air flow and nutrient availability. Healthy soil breeds healthy plants.

Q: I am contacting you about the construction of a small vegetable garden. We would like build a raised bed type and want to do it right. We are planning on using landscape timbers and think we have the design correct on paper but we would appreciate your input to make sure we are on the right track.

A: The soil is the most important part of any garden and with a raised bed it is very easy to get the soil right from the beginning. When tilling up a conventional garden you are stuck with the soil that is there, but with a raised bed you can literally build the soil from the ground up.

I would recommend incorporating generous amounts of well rotted manure, compost, leaves or peat moss into the soil- a combination of all four would be the ultimate mix. Roto-till or dig the area you are going to use for your bed and then mix a large enough quantity of the organic matter into the soil to bring the level up to that of your side boards and re-till. Shape the soil so that is has a flat top with sloping sides- this will help conserve moisture.

Make the sides from cedar; cypress or locust- all naturally rot resistant woods. Another option is to use the new plastic planks available for decks etc. If you are going to use treated lumber, be very sure to find out what it is treated with because some treatments contain toxic chemicals. Borax-based preservatives are best.

Make the beds no more than five foot wide because, at that width, it is easy to reach the middle from both sides. I would recommend that you try to find a book called Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew; it will give you lots of good ideas of ways to grow things in your raised-bed.

Q: We have two extremely overgrown holly shrubs, when should we trim them? Our azaleas also need trimming. Should we trim them now, and how much can we take off?

A: You can trim Holly now- it can be drastically cut back, if needed. Azalea should be trimmed as soon after blooming as possible. Azaleas set their buds in late summer for the next spring so never prune later than the end of June. Leave at least 2-3 leaf nodes on each branch unless you want to totally remove it; in that case, cut it all the way back to trunk.