Fruit Trees and Small Fruits

Is it unusual for strawberry plants to have four leaves?

Question: Not really an important question, but one of my strawberry plants has four leaves instead of three. I was wondering if this was unusual like a 4-leaf clover? I wasn’t able to find anything useful about how common this might be online. Answer: Donna Coffin, Extension Professor Strawberries “typically” have three leaflets on each […]

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Can you recommend a low-acid tomato variety?

Question: I have chronic acid reflux and need a low acid tomato seed or plant recommendation. Answer: Frank Wertheim, Extension Educator, Agriculture/Horticulture Though there are a number of commercial .com web sites such that list low acid tomato varieties, they may not be verified by research based institutions. This University of Nebraska fact sheet on […]

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Can you help me understand hardiness zones?

Question: I’m out in Bethel, and I’m looking at buying some trees, both fruit, and landscaping. I’m trying to understand some things about hardiness zones. We’re in zone 4 (I think), though we’re not far from Zone 5, but when I look at record low temperatures in Bethel, they’re well above -20F (which is minimum […]

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How can I keep my husk cherries producing until frost?

Question: Last year I grew husk cherries in 10″ diameter x 10″ high containers on a table topped with hardware cloth in my garden to make harvesting easier. I used a Fox Farm potting medium in the pots. For the first couple of month, the plants grew terrifically and the fruits were much larger than […]

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What is causing the rot-like damage on my apple tree?

Question: My Ashmead’s Kernel apple didn’t do well last year. It looks like it didn’t overwinter well. I was doing some spring clean up and noticed some rot-like damage. Do you have any idea what is going on or how I can help? Answer: Tori Lee Jackson, Extension Professor of Agriculture and Natural Resources It’s […]

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What is gnawing the base of my cherry tree?

Question: I have noticed fresh holes at the base of what I am guessing is an ornamental cherry tree. I do not see any holes or issues up on the branches of the tree. It is a well-established tree, I am guessing 10+ years old as trunk diameter is fairly large even though the tree […]

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How can we make our wild blueberry patch weed free and healthy?

Question: We live on Little Deer Isle and are writing with a question about growing Maine wild blueberries. We have a patch approximately 15’x40′ that we had transplanted two years ago. We have added peat moss and sulphur, but the plants are not thriving. The patch abuts a field. We are having a dreadful time […]

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What should I do to establish a field of wildflowers?

Question: I own six acres on Islesboro, approximately two acres of which I would like to turn into a field of wildflowers with a few assorted apple trees and the existing birch and ash trees. I have included an image of the property with a key showing the main “environments.” This property was historically a […]

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