I have been asked the same questions many times this week so I thought I should make them this week's topic. Here they are.

Earwigs

We are seeing more damage from earwigs than in any previous year I can remember.

This could be because we are using more mulch in our gardens, or that the chemicals we use are less effective in controlling them.

Someone brought me two roses and complained that something was eating them; I gave the first one a vigorous shake and out came a dozen earwigs!

Tomato, pyrethrum or vegetable dust can be mildly effective in protecting foliage. If all else fails, water diluted carbaryl around the perimeter of your area or where you think earwigs congregate.

You can catch them in rolledup newspaper, jars full of moist straw, and short lengths of hose.

I heard of someone who used hollow lengths of bamboo, and overnight destroyed 150 earwigs.

Tomatoes that won't set fruit

Thrips are small insects that suck the life out of flower parts so they dry up and fail to develop into fruit. They are prevalent in hot weather.

On tomatoes and other edible crops, use EcoNeem or pyrethrum with eucalyptus or tea tree oil. It may be necessary to repeat the spray every two or three weeks.

Thrips are equally disastrous on geraniums, dahlias, carnations and other flowering plants. Spray with Malathion or Rogor.

Red spider mite

This tiny spider sucks colour and life out of leaves. It can be prevalent on beans - dwarf or climbing - in summer.

They are discouraged by moisture and humidity, so mulch the soil with rice straw or other compost and keep this damp.

Against all other wisdom, water overhead and damp the foliage in hot weather!

Sulphur is a natural miticide but mustn't be used on cucumbers.

Distorted leaves and shoots

If the stem of the leaf is twisted or bent and faces upside down or is malformed, you are looking at the effects of a weedkiller, probably the kind that kills broadleaf weeds in a lawn. Never borrow a sprayer, and keep a separate sprayer or watering can for your own use of a weedicide.

Yellow leaves

There are lots of reasons for yellow leaves.

A caller's vegetable garden was disappointing her. She had used manure, dynamic lifter and seaweed regularly and her silverbeet was now going yellow.

It is essential to apply a complete mineral mixture for the start of each crop; no magnesium means yellow foliage.

We sell a complete organic fertiliser which is designed to fulfil this role, and your tomatoes and silverbeet will stay green.

- John Holder

Shepparton Garden Centre

535 Archer Rd, Kialla

? Grow something interesting from a seed packet. What about a Walking Stick cabbage?

? Avoid a cheap hose, some of them can melt in the heat!

? Small-growing bushy eucalypts with bright yellow or red flowers make great screening plants, particularly if you are avoiding a lawn.

? Red or white dwarf geraniums make a great colour statement for Christmas. Plant them in flower now, in pots, hanging baskets or in the ground around your outdoor area.

? Check out flowering trees. Crepe myrtles are about to start!