QUESTION OF THE WEEK
My houseplants have moldy soil. What can I do?
Answer: This is a common problem, especially this time of year.
To treat it, remove the plant from the container. Work gently to remove the root ball intact. Shake off excess soil. Discard the rest of the soil. You may want to go ahead and wash the container with a mild bleach solution.
Take the plant outside and dust the roots with a good fungicide like dusting sulphur or a product containing neem oil. An advantage to neem oil is that it’s a safe and natural insecticide as well as fungicide.
Repot in new potting soil. To prevent the problem, make sure the plant gets the amount of light it requires. And be very careful about watering it too often. Check to make sure that the soil is completely dry before watering. It’s better to water too little than too much. Too much water leaves to fungal and insect problems, or root rot.
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PLANT OF THE WEEK
Texas Everbearing Fig
(Ficus carica)
 The Texas Everbearing fig is also known as Brown Turkey fig.
There are many varieties of fig. They vary in size, size of fruit and flavor of fruit.
Texas Everbearing fig gets about 10’ x 10’. It does look really nice when you leave it bushy, or you can prune it to be a small tree.
It needs full sun and well-drained soil. If you don’t have good drainage, you will have problems. If possible, plant in a sheltered area since this variety can sometimes be susceptible to winter frost.
Nutrients are not as important to this tree as they are to some other fruit trees, so it doesn’t require as much fertilization. It self-pollinates, so you don’t need to plant a second fig.
It produces nearly seedless fruit with a mild sweet flavor from June through August.
You will want to thin your fruit if you have a heavy crop.
You want to also protect that tree, if possible, from birds who will also love the figs!
Find out more about fig varieties and how to grow them.
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PLANTING TIPS OF THE WEEK
- Cut up holiday gourds & pumpkins for the compost pile once their time is up.
- Plant herb transplants, including borage, chamomile, lemon balm, and thyme.
- Plant shrubs and trees.
- Be ready to cover vegetable crops.
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THIS WEEK'S FEATURE
Randa Daude from Oma’s Garten Pflanzen picks plants for winter interest.
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