Ask the Gardener: Green tomatoes, arborvitae and millet

Everybody Gardens editor Doug Oster gets asked a lot of questions. A lot. And he doesn’t mind offering gardening advice. But rather than just limiting those answers to the person who asked, we thought it might be a good idea to share that wealth of knowledge with everybody.

There are three ways to send in your questions:

Email askdoug@535mediallc.com
Submit your question on our “Your Garden” section of our site
Send us a message on Facebook.

(The questions may be lightly edited for grammar/clarity/etc.)

green tomatoes

Question 1: Green tomatoes

Greg: Can I eat small green tomatoes or should I toss them?

Doug: Never toss them, as there are lots of ways to use them. Green tomatoes are super tasty. Fried green tomatoes are a classic, but hard to do with smaller varieties. There are lots of recipes online to make green tomato relish, salsa verde, green tomato pie, green tomato soup and even green tomato ketchup.

You just don’t want them to go to waste. Have fun with them and let me know what you end up making.

Question 2: Arborvitae

Mary: My neighbor’s daughter transplanted an arborvitae that originated on its own in the backyard. It was a beautiful green. It is in the front now, and it’s a sickly green yellow. There had been a yew in this site that never really prospered. Also the daughter had put some weed killer on this site earlier this year. My neighbor is 88 years old, and I don’t want this arborvitae to die.

Doug: When was the plant transplanted and how much water has it got since being moved? Any idea what kind of weed killer and how much?

One thing we know for sure. Trees that are transplanted need a good soaking twice a week, meaning letting the hose run at the base for about 20 minutes.

Millet

Question 3: Millet

Charlotte: There is a plant growing on the side of my house, and I have no idea what the heck it is. Can you identify it? Is it just a weed? At first, I thought I was growing corn.

Doug: That’s a type of millet, it could be a cultivar or a wild plant, but it’s a beauty. Many gardeners grow varieties as ornamentals and as long as you like the way it looks, it’s a wonderful plant for the garden.