Pike Nurseries answers your gardening questions - KMSP-TV

Do you have a problem with your garden? Pike Nurseries assistant manager, Melodie McDanal, joined Good Day Atlanta on Friday to answer some of your gardening questions!

If you have a question about taking care of your lawn, garden, or shrubbery, send it to goodday@myfoxatlanta.com and it just might be answered on Good Day Atlanta next Friday!

Website: www.pikenursery.com  

Question 1:
How important is testing the PH level in my garden to ensure quality soil? How is the best way to test it?

Answer 1:
The use of lime to correct the soil's pH level is probably one of the most important but least understood aspects of successful gardening. In the simplest terms, when the soil's pH level is too acidic or too alkaline, plants may not be able to absorb the nutrition they need for a healthy existence.  You can use a home soil test kit or you can pick up a soil sample kit at Pike Nurseries that you send to your county extension service for analysis.  Based on the results, it will take 40 to 50 pounds of lime per 1000 square feet to raise the pH level from 5.5 to 6.5.

Question 2:
The front of my house gets sun on the left of my front door and shade all day on the right side due to trees. What is a good shrub I can plant on either side that will grow in both conditions so I have a symmetric look?  

Answer 2:
Nandina would be a great option. These evergreen shrubs with varying shades of red and green leaves perform well in either sun or shade. For best results, you can plant the Nandinas in two large containers. As the plants grow, you can periodically move the containers from one side of the porch to the other, so that both containers are exposed to both sun and shade.  

Question 3:
I plant a small garden every summer. Most things thrive but my zucchini never does. It gets lots of blossoms and very small squash start to form, but then they turn yellow and rot. What could be causing this?

Answer 3:
Sounds like a problem with pollination. Zucchini plants produce both male and female flowers. Only female zucchini blossoms can produce zucchini squash. Once male zucchini blossoms have opened to release their pollen, they simply fall off the plant. Many times, a zucchini plant will produce only male flowers at first to ensure that pollen will be available when the female blooms open. Poor pollination can occur for several reasons:  A lack of pollinators, like bees or butterflies, and high humidity can cause the pollen to clump, and extremely rainy weather or temperature extremes can stress the plants. This summer's 100+ temperatures were tough on many vegetable gardens.