Gardentalk

Young fruit trees up to two years old should be allowed to grow a strong root system instead of ripening a lot of fruit.

Mound loose, well-drained soil around your potato plants as they grow so they can produce more potatoes this season. Also, Ed Buyarski has some advice in combating the cabbage root maggot and the European currant worm.

In the latest segment of Gardentalk, Master Gardener Ed Buyarski suggests using horticultural lime to sweeten or change the acidity level of your garden soil. Bags of lime are usually found in home improvement or garden outlets around Juneau.

Smother buttercups with cardboard and top off with a layer of clean garden soil. As long as the soil under the cardboard remains undisturbed, the dormant buttercup seeds should not germinate.

Carefully dig up the plant and separate out the various drumsticks of flowers by lightly shaking and washing out the soil from the roots. Trim off the flower top and a few of the roots before transplanting in groups of three.

Place your geraniums, petunias and begonias outside and cover them with reemay horticultural fabric. You can also place jugs of water around the plants for additional overnight frost protection.