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They're from a supplier in Michigan, the same zone as I am, and they say unless they're instructed otherwise they'll schedule a fall delivery. I assume the trees are dormant, but I'm not sure about that.

I found a great deal on 5 foot sugar maples, bare-root. I'd like to try to plant a bunch in various places on our property. Is now a good time to plant bare root trees (Wisconsin, zone 4/5). Will they have any chance of making it?

Great, thanks!

I have lots of apples, and will freeze some for later use in pies, but I was also wondering about making and freezing applesauce. I don't do canning, but have a nice huge chest freezer. Last year my apples went bad because I did nothing with them. I hate to waste food.

Thanks to both of you!

I have lots of pumpkins, plenty of which are fully orange now. When can I pick them? Is it important to wait for cool weather? I live in Wisconsin and we're still having warm days but cooler nights. Mine are pie pumpkins, and I want them at their sweetest. Same for the butternuts and acorns.

I have a fruit tree that I bought as an apple tree (incorrectly labelled, apparently). I have several apple trees, but this particular one has never done anything. I think this is the third year for it. This year it has two "things" on it that might be plums, definitely are not apples. Are...

In addition to zucchini, this year I also planted yellow summer squash, both the straight and crooknecked. I was cutting up a bunch yesterday for freezing, and some of the crookneck ones are VERY hard, more like an unripe butternut or other winter squash. Do I have something weird here, or are...

Speaking of plums, maybe one of you knows the answer to this; I have a fruit tree that I bought as an apple tree (incorrectly labelled, apparently). I have several apple trees, but this particular one has never done anything. I think this is the third year for it. This year it has two...

Did you thin them after they sprouted? If you don't, none of them will produce big fat radishes, they just stay skinny, pathetic roots.

I don't think the soil is all that fertile. It got pretty worn out with years of corn and chemical fertilizers. I've been adding llama manure and other compost, and each year the garden is a little better. I've been disappointed in everything, not just potatoes, but last year was definitely a...

We had a lot of rain in June (near Madison, WI), then pretty dry July and August, but I watered weekly. The soil is not ideal, as it had grown corn for 20+ years straight before we bought the place, but last year my potato crop was much better. Maybe you're right and the seed potatoes were...

I dug up my potatoes yesterday and was quite disappointed in the yield. I couldn't really wait any longer, because the plants were yellowing and some of the stalks were starting to rot. My total harvest, from three bags of seed potatoes, only filled a five gallon bucket. Each plant had two or...

My potato plants are still all green and healthy looking, and I was waiting for them to turn yellowish (I thought that's what I'm supposed to wait for...) but we're getting into the beginning of fall. I haven't dug any up to see what I've got, so should I just keep waiting and dig them after...

When should I pick butternut and acorn squash and pumpkins? They appear to be the appropriate color now, but I thought I remembered something about leaving them on the vine into the crisp fall days. Does it matter? Should I pick them now, or leave them?

Thanks for the advice! Maybe I'll just trim the weeds down to the same height as the strawberries for now, to reduce the unsightliness of the area. I did nothing about the weeds there last year, and had a bumper crop of strawberries this spring, so I guess you're right, they'll do just fine.

I found some big bugs on my potatoes last night. They're black and gray, with a sort of eggplant shaped body with a little round head. They're pretty big, maybe 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch long. How do I get rid of them? Is there something safe to use to spray all of my plants, for multiple pests...

Can the plants be mowed over, or do they need to be left alone the rest of the season? It's now a big weed patch along with the strawberry plants. I have too many other, currently producing areas of the garden to weed to keep up with it all.

That helps a lot, thank you!

Can anyone explain the biology behind the need for different varieties of a fruit tree species for proper pollination? It seems odd to me that in order to get, say, a macintosh apple tree to produce macintosh apples, you have to also plant some other variety, like gala, etc.