Gardening Q&A

My hummingbird feeder has been hanging on my back deck for years with no problems. Suddenly, each morning I’m finding the sugar water spilled all over the deck rail and floor. What kind of animal is getting into the feeder?

It’s most likely a raccoon. They’re smart and wily. The solution is an easy one: take the feeder in each night and put it back out the following morning. After about a week, the raccoons will stop checking and you can leave it out.

What’s the difference between a yam and a sweet potato?

Yams and sweet potatoes are not the same. Yams are part of the lily family, while sweet potatoes are part of the morning glory family.

Yams are drier and starchier than sweet potatoes. They are a root tuber and have brown bark-like skin and white or purple flesh. The flesh, when cooked, is similar to a russet potato.

A sweet potato is also a root tuber. It is native to Central and South America, is more cylindrical or tapered in shape and has reddish, thin skin. The flesh inside can be orange, purple or white. The most common one has orange flesh and a sweet flavor.

I’ve made the mistake at the grocery store of buying a yam when I wanted a sweet potato. Too often, grocery stores use the terms interchangeably.

Can I still plant sweet pea seeds?

Yes. You can scatter them around the garden and let Mother Nature do the rest. If you really want to be sure the seeds get off to the best start, rough up the soil a bit, scatter the seeds and then cover them lightly.

Usually, autumn and winter rains are enough to allow the seeds to germinate and grow for next spring’s flowers, but if you hit a prolonged dry spell, give the garden some water.

Summer 2024 California Bountiful magazine

As a California Bountiful reader, you have the opportunity to get your seasonal gardening questions answered by gardening expert Pat Rubin. Here are a few questions from our readers.

What is a burpless cucumber?

Cucumbers make a lot of people burp. Researchers discovered a compound called cucurbitacin is responsible for this and other digestive issues with cucumbers. It can also make cucumbers taste bitter. Cucurbitacin is found in the skin of cucumbers. Burpless cucumbers have less of this compound.

I want to help bees survive. So, what are the best plants for attracting bees?

Rosemary blooms almost continually, so is a good year-round choice. Also include lavender, thyme, oregano, marjoram, zinnias, honeysuckle, and all types of culinary and ornamental sage. Bees are thought to prefer blue, yellow and purple flowers.

I planted several ornamental grasses this past spring. They’re beautiful right now, but when do I cut them back?

Start cutting them to the ground by December. Don’t wait so long that the blades start to break away from the plants and scatter all across the garden. Better to cut them back while they still look nice rather than wait too long and have a mess.

Spring 2024 California Bountiful magazine

As a California Bountiful reader, you have the opportunity to get your seasonal gardening questions answered by gardening expert Pat Rubin. Here are a few questions from our readers.

I planted my garden early since the nurseries offered starter plants, and a late frost damaged all of the tomatoes and the basil has turned black. Will they recover?

The short answer is no. It’s always a risk to plant early. Sometimes it works and you get a jump-start on the season. But plants put in at the proper time grow quickly, so you really haven’t gained much. Just because the garden centers offer vegetable plants in March doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to plant them.

Your basil is finished, and by the time your tomato plants recover, newly planted tomatoes will be much farther ahead. Toss them all.

In the future, if you want to plant tomatoes early, protect them from the frost. Most garden centers sell frost protection items for veggies.

My cosmos and tomato seedlings are tall and spindly. What went wrong?

Do two things differently next time to ensure success. Give the plants more light, especially direct sunlight. Take the flats of seedlings outside for a little morning sun each day. Start when they get their first set of true leaves. Leave them outside for only a few minutes at first and gradually work up to a couple of hours. Make sure they are watered before you take them out. Be careful since fragile seedlings can burn up if the sun is too hot.

Second, run your hand across the seedlings several times each day, or put an oscillating fan on very low near the seedlings. This movement will help them grow stronger stems.

What’s the difference between a winter squash and a pumpkin?

Both are in the Cucurbita family but have their own identities. Pumpkins are typically bigger and rounder, while winter squash comes in many shapes. Both have hard outer skin to protect them. Some believe the term pumpkin doesn’t really mean anything, but to gardeners and cooks alike, the terms pumpkin and winter squash conjure up two different crops. So, while a pumpkin may really be a winter squash, not many gardeners or cooks think of them that way. Oddly enough, the giant pumpkins you see people entering in contests and growing upwards of 1,000 pounds are just giant winter squashes. They aren’t traditional pumpkins at all.


Every garden book says to add compost to soil and to keep doing it. Why do I have to constantly add compost?

The nutrients don’t last forever, so it’s important to keep feeding the soil. Your soil is like a living being and needs nourishment if it is to keep producing bountiful crops for you. If you are gardening in containers, it’s especially important to add nutrients to the soil, whether in the form of compost, time-release fertilizer granules or liquid fertilizer.