by Barbara Sue Schubert

Funny how those darn ants seem to find their way into anything. If you don’t want to use a pesticide for vegetable gardens, there are some great home remedies out there. For some reason ants hate baby powder, so sprinkling it around your plant should do the trick. White vinegar in a spray bottle is also supposed to be a good deterrent; although I’ve also heard cider vinegar works just as well. Just spray it around the plants, soil, counter, etc., for best, clean, non-toxic results. I also use one of my old standbys: a mixture of dish soap and rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. This mixture is especially affective for mealy bugs and spider mites as well.

“This will be my second season using the new greenhouse I constructed last spring and already I’m running out of room. Do you have any tips on the best way to utilize my space?”

Plant spacing is very important in a greenhouse and can dictate the overall health of your entire greenhouse. If plants are too close together, the results are poor. Keep in mind when planting what plants grow taller or need more light. If you use a little common sense and pre-planning, you can grow plants requiring less light under those sunbathers and utilize your space better.

And what about using your air space? Don’t forget about vertical trellises you can throw up just about anywhere. Although you have to be choosy about which plants to use on the trellises there are plenty who welcome the climb! Edible crops include cucumbers, peas, pole beans, tomatoes and summer and winter squash, where flowering plants include some Jasmines, Morning Glory, Sweet Pea and some Nasturtiums. There’s a whole new trellis world out there for you to explore and it’s cheaper than building on to your greenhouse.  

"My “earthy” sister gave me a large Aloe Vera plant for Christmas last year. It’s not all that attractive, but she told me it had medicinal qualities and walked away. I don’t get it. Do you?"

Believe it or not Kenny, your sister gave you a great present. Aloe Vera plant excitement subsided considerably since the 1980s and 1990s when it was a pretty popular plant. Known as the “burn plant” this luscious succulent is best known for its medicinal qualities for treating minor skin burns and sunburns. The sap in the plant is the key and is still used as one of the ingredients in over the counter burn medications and for minor digestive ailments. I keep one on my window sill in the kitchen and have plenty of snapped off limbs on it from using it for a quick first aid treatment for burns.  

“What kind of grass grows best around a black walnut tree? I know there are only selective vegetable and flowering plants that do well, so I was wondering if you could recommend a type of grass.”

Try a Kentucky Bluegrass variety. Over a 100 different kinds have been developed to withstand different climates, so find a variety that tolerates southern climates better than others. The growth pattern on this particular grass is a response to day length, rather than temperature. I would recommend choosing about three different varieties for experimentation through the help of a local nursery and may the best grass win!

“Now that I’m retired, I’m just starting to get my “roots wet” in gardening as a new hobby and am really enjoying it.  This will be the first year experimenting with a cold frame and was wondering if I should just go straight to a small greenhouse construction instead?”

Welcome to a wonderful new hobby Zoe!  While eventually every gardener considers the purchase of a greenhouse, you may want to slow down.  A greenhouse does offer you the great fortune of enjoying gardening all year around, but it also represents a considerable commitment in terms of time, money and space.  A cold frame is a great way to start since it is essentially a ground level, unheated greenhouse and can be a permanent fixture in your garden. The cold frame is small and compact, helping plants retain heat radiating from the surrounding soil during the cold night hours of spring.  When closed, it also traps moisture inside the structure, cutting down on your watering chores – something a full blown greenhouse set up will not do.

Cold frames are useful for early planting of summer annuals and seeds, protecting tender plants in winter, forcing cuttings to root faster, starting perennials from seed in summer, and growing many kinds of plants you wouldn’t normally be able to grow in your area.  By starting out this way, you’ll get a better feel on a smaller and cheaper scale before you’re ready to dive into a greenhouse expense. Michelle Moore authored an excellent article in the Garden & Greenhouse March issue on the differences between cold frames and greenhouses and you can review it in the archive section of www.GardenAndGreenhouse.net. Then I’d start exploring websites to feed your greenhouse exploration.  There’s so much out there to consider.  I love your enthusiasm!

“Someone gave me several Armaryllis bulbs this winter but I’m not sure what to do with them.”

If you love easy flowering plants and want to get a jump on spring, get those bulbs in a pot as soon as possible –separate pots of course for each bulb.  Make sure the pots are at least two inches wider than the bulb that is going in it.  A clay pot is best because the Armaryllis can grow from 8-10 inches high, so a clay pot is a little heavier and will offer stability. Set the bulb in potting soil and leave the top third exposed.  Armaryllis like to be on the wet side. It’ll take about six-eight weeks before it flowers, so if you don’t start to see growth in a few weeks, set it in a warm area of the house and you should see results.

Once they’ve flowered (and boy do they flower!) some people believe they need to go dormant for a year. However, the other side of the fence –which I’m on—will simply trim off the flower stalk. The plant will grow long, gangly, straplike leaves and do so until it decides to bloom again, usually in late winter. And the best part of all is Armaryllis require no special conditions or treatments. GG

Do You Have a Question about What’s going on in your garden or greenhouse? Submit your question for Barbara Sue (include your city and state) by contacting us at: phone (563) 557-7571, fax (563) 557-7641 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or write us at Garden and Greenhouse, 6170 Forest Hills Drive, Dubuque, IA 52002. Barbara Sue will do her best to publish your question with an answer in the next available issue.

Barbara Sue Schubert is a human resource professional, free-lance writer and a garden and plant enthusiast from southern Wisconsin. “To me, HR and gardening have a lot in common, both feed my family!  Writing, on the other hand, feeds my soul.”