Hello all! It's me again, Sarah Barry Spooner from Spoonful, a novice gardener and friend of the Farmer. One advantage I have as having James as a real life friend is that I can shoot him an e-mail with my gardening woes and questions. Below in green are the questions I sent him regarding knockout roses, tomatoes, and full sun. I found his answers helpful and totally worthy of a blog post. James agreed.

my email to James:

James,

my knockout roses are splotchy on the leaves. are they diseased? what should i do?

also, i'm working on tomatoes. last time i grew these rodents got them. is there a good way to keep this from happening? should we get a scarecrow?

oh and when should i pick them {tomatoes} off the vine? when they are green?

what is considered full sun? is there an hourly limit? my yard is so shady and i'm really hoping my zinnias and wild flowers will make it. i planted in sunny places, but even the sunny places are somewhat shady at certain parts of the day.

i know you are super busy! answer these questions in your own time. i was thinking we could make a post about them. sort of a Q and A. I'll provide pictures if you like and link up on my blog.

i love collecting gardening knowledge little pieces at a time, year by year.

Mama Spoon

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James' answers are in blue text

my knockout roses are splotchy on the leaves. are they diseased? what should i do?

KO roses are probably the most disease resistant roses out there. Occasional splotches and blotches are to be expected on any rose though. Honestly, I wouldn’t worry too much about them. Clip off spent blossoms to encourage new growth, fertilize with rich organic matter, and if the spots become severe, try a mixture of Murphy’s oil soap and water one cup to one gallon. Spray on the leaves, underneath the foliage too. That little bit of oil soap makes it tough for critters to stay on the leaves. There are non-organic and other methods to try, but for KO roses, I’d wouldn’t be too stressed.

also, i'm working on tomatoes. last time i grew these rodents got them. is there a good way to keep this from happening? should we get a scarecrow?

There is probably a remedy for every rodent when it comes to growing tomatoes and the like. Scarecrows do help, until the crow start resting on his arms! Rodents are startled easily so if the scarecrow has something that moves with the wind or is reflective on him, then that might help scare the crow away. Other fun things…marigolds help keep aphids away, cayenne pepper is frowned upon by squirrels, and moth balls detour just about anything or anyone!

oh and when should i pick them{tomatoes} off the vine? when they are green?

LOVE this question!!! pick off the vine when YOU want to eat it. tomatoes and many other fruits will ripen off the vine, but on the vine lends the most flavor. YET, there is that magic moment when a tomato is absolutely perfect one second and rotten the next. I pick them when I need them or know I’ll need them. Say I’m having BLT’s for lunch or tomatoes with supper…I’ll pick them that morning for sure or even the day before. With the heat coming on strong, the fruits will ripen faster, so picking a few green ones to ripen off the vine on your kitchen window sill or screen porch is just fine. Pick when you need them or within the day of cooking with them. And remember, each stage of the tomato’s ripeness yields different flavor…the green ones are spicy and mix well with red ones in a stew or succotash.

what is considered full sun? is there an hourly limit? my yard is so shady and i'm really hoping my zinnias and wild flowers will make it. i planted in sunny places, but even the sunny places are somewhat shady at certain parts of the day.

Full sun…that’s a loaded question… sunlight is somewhat akin to color theory…your blue might be gray and my green might be blue. But typically, an area that receives 6 or more hours of sunlight a day is considered “full sun.” When those 6 hours hit the plant it makes a huge difference. Morning light or an eastern exposure is completely different than a western exposure. Six hours of morning light versus afternoon light can make or break a plant. So when considering full sun, consider the type of light the plant will receive. Anything that gets sunlight from noon on is full hot sun to me. Yet, a plant that needs full sun and gets it until, say 3 pm, will be just fine shaded the rest of the day. Plants like hydrangeas and azaleas, or ANY blooming plant for that matter, need sunlight to photosynthesize and flower, but that softer sun, such as eastern exposures, is ideal for shady plants who still need some sunny love.

This was too much fun!!! thanks dear!!! let’s do more!

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Just for fun, some pictures of my efforts...past and present....

yellow knockout roses, given to us for our son's first birthday. What a neat gift, right?!