Q: I would like to plant corn this summer, but I’ve heard that you can’t grow both popcorn and sweet corn at the same time. Why?
A: Bad things happen when sweet corn and popcorn cross-pollinate.
Corn kernels develop only when they have been pollinated. Therefore, you really can’t grow only a few corn plants. There has to be enough plants so that everybody gets some pollen. Think about having a party with only a snack-sized bag of chips. Nobody’s happy in that situation.
When you see an ear of corn with a lot of shriveled kernels, that is the result of inadequate pollination.
Kernel development is the direct product of pollination/fertilization, so there must be a complete set of matching genes present in order to produce the right amount of sugar or starch. If sweet corn is pollinated with popcorn pollen, the result is a dreadful starchy disaster.
A few years ago, we tried growing corn in our little garden. The stalks grew beautifully tall and we soon saw little ears emerging. We even used a little paintbrush to hand-pollinate because we had only about 25 plants. Things were looking good!
Then one morning we woke up to a completely destroyed corn patch. All the stalks had been knocked to the ground and the ears torn away. Our local family of raccoons had visited and helped themselves to our corn.
Oddly enough, we had been growing popcorn so the raw kernels would have tasted awful. I’m still waiting for the raccoons to inflict their revenge.
Q: I need your assistance in determining what is happening to my tangelo tree. The leaves are turning yellow and some are dying. Some small patches of the bark have peeled off as well.
A: There are several things that could be going on with your tangelo. All of these involve some sort of either fungus or root rot.
If the roots stay wet for too long, they will begin to rot. Once this process begins, it’s hard to recover the tree. Fungus travels to the tree’s vascular system, causing the leaves to yellow and fall. Sometimes bark will peel away from the cambium, exposing the tree to pest invasion or further damage.
We had planted a Meyer lemon close to our house, under the eaves for frost protection. After the heavy rains this spring, that poor tree ended up drowning due to all the runoff from the roof. Before the tree had definitively died, it had exhibited leaf yellowing and defoliation. It managed to produce a few lemons before it finally collapsed.
I like to remind people that the title Master Gardener goes to those of us who have killed the most plants.
Q: We planted a bunch of strawberry plants this spring and everything was going great until the local crows discovered them. They ate all of our berries! What can we do to keep them away?
A: Crows are very smart, so you have to be smarter. Our cats won’t even mess with crows.
Buy a bag of small (one-inch across) river rocks and a can of red spray paint. Paint the rocks, let them dry, then place them under the strawberry plants. When the crows come back, they will find your new “crop” of strawberries to be unsatisfying and will hopefully find some nice roadkill to eat instead.Have gardening questions? Email gardening@scng.com.
Looking for more gardening tips? Here’s how to contact the Master Gardener program in your area.
Los Angeles County
mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/
Orange County
ucceocmghotline@ucanr.edu; 949-809-9760; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/
Riverside County
anrmgriverside@ucanr.edu; 951-683-6491 ext. 231; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/
San Bernardino County
mgsanbern@ucanr.edu; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu/
