Soil

Can you suggest a small tree for full sun under power lines? I'd prefer a native tree, trouble-free and not susceptible to insects and disease. Canadian Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis), Choke cherry (Prunus virginiana) and sassafras are possibilities. For additional information and a list of native plant nurseries, go to the Maryland Native Plant Society Web site, mdflora.org. I should have aerated and over-seeded in the fall, but I missed the time frame. Is it OK to aerate and over-seed in spring?

WASHINGTON - State and federal agencies hope to turn an environmental problem into a solution by combining poultry manure with harbor dredge to make a fertile soil substitute.If the proposal works, it could make a positive out of two very large negatives for the state: Maryland produces as much at 400,000 tons of chicken manure a year and removes 5 million cubic yards of dredge from bay shipping channels.U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers began analyzing dredge samples in December to see if poultry manure can replace the organic matter that, over time, is washed out of the dredged sediment.

Underground ChicagoIt's a dirty world at Chicago's Field Museum. The natural science museum's newest permanent exhibit, "Underground Adventure," delves beneath the surface to explore the many different critters that help make the ecosystem go 'round.The $10 million installation covers 15,000 square feet and consists of six sections. In Base Camp, visitors learn about the variety of things dependent on soil; in the Shrink Chamber and the Micro Soil Lab, guests are "reduced" to 1/100th of their normal size and transported underground to visit giant crawfish, earthworms, wolf spiders, microscopic mites, plants and fungi.

Q. I recently noticed that some of the new perennials I planted in September were lying on their sides with the roots exposed. I replanted them as soon as I saw what happened. Will they survive?A. Your plants were heaved out of the ground by the freezing and thawing action of the soil they were planted in. The plants may be dead if the roots dried out. Pull some extra soil up around the crowns and gently push down on the soil around the plants to anchor them more firmly. Then cover the ground with a 3-inch layer of leaves or straw.

Q. Help! I watered my tomato plants with a sprinkler every day and babied them in every way. But the bottom leaves of all my plants turned yellow, then brown and then dried up. I'm deeply distressed. What could have happened?A. You may have killed your tomatoes with kindness. If your soil is saturated with water from excessive irrigation, the tomato plant roots may be deprived of oxygen. Lack of oxygen causes wilting and leaf yellowing.On the other hand, your plants' lower leaves may be infected with early blight, a common soil-borne fungus that splashes onto lower leaves during watering.

Q. My tomatoes were doing great until the end of August, when the leaves started getting tan blotches, turning brown and folding up. Then I found skinny little gray worms inside the tomatoes. I've been growing tomatoes for 35 years and never had a problem like this. What's happening?A. Tomato pinworms have finally found your garden. The adult moth lays eggs on tomato leaves. The larvae hatch out and begin feeding on the leaves. They created those tan blotches (called "mines") that you observed, and they fold over leaves for protection.

From the house on their farm outside Cooksville, Brice and Mary Anne Ridgely enjoy a view of grassy hills, deer grazing in a brush-covered marsh and ducks swimming on a tranquil pond. The elements of this rural setting also serve a purpose -- as part of a conservation program designed to protect soil and waterways.The Ridgelys planted 3,700 saplings to hold the soil and form a buffer between their fields and the water. They built fences along streams to keep cows and horses from eroding the banks and polluting the water.

RAIN FELL IN the fifth-grade classroom at Hampstead Elementary on Monday.The simulation was created by Lisa Spence, home horticulture assistant of the Carroll County Cooperative Extension. She used a watering can in an exercise to demonstrate the ability of roots to net the soil and prevent erosion.Spence, assisted by five county master gardeners, showed fifth-graders why soil conservation is important.The program, Up From the Soil, began with a video, moved into touching earthworms and ended with a marigold for each child to plant after Mother's Day.Pupils from the classrooms of fifth-grade teachers Jo Clark, Regina Richardson, Meg Cheyne and Miriam Krumrine watched a video of the weathering of rock into soil, newsreels of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s and measures that have restored prime prairie farmland over the past 60 years.

Completion of a new Northern District police station is running at least seven months late because of contaminated soil on the site, where tests have found methane, benzene and other chemicals that can be hazardous in large amounts.The $4.3 million project, due to be done last month, is now scheduled to open in September, said Department of Public Works Director George G. Balog, who appears to be at odds with Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. over the source of at least part of the contamination.

The state Board of Public Works is expected to approve $81,175 next week to clean up a minor gasoline spill at Springfield Hospital Center in Sykesville.The spill involved soil only and has had no adverse effect on any water supply, state officials said yesterday."The contamination is basically around the site," said Quentin Banks, spokesman for the Maryland Department of the Environment. "There is no threat to private wells."Frequent monitoring and ground-water sampling have shown no contamination to water sources for the hospital or to private wells for the past four years, Banks said.

Question: : My irises haven't bloomed for three years. Leaves come up, but no flowers. Answer: : Your irises may be planted too deeply. This is a classic reason why they fail to bloom, even when foliage is present. The top of the rhizome should be showing at the soil's surface. Irises also require at least six hours of sun a day to bloom, and cannot be allowed to dry out, especially in the critical spring months when buds are set. At the same time, if they are over-watered then you may get some rot, so watering should be done carefully.

The fruit trees in the catalogs look great, but the companies ship the trees "bare-root." Will those trees grow well, since they have been out of the soil so long? They'll flourish, provided their roots are not allowed to dry out. It is standard practice to ship young fruit trees when dormant. Trees are packaged carefully to keep moisture around the roots. Time the shipping for a good time to plant. If your soil is unworkable (frozen or too wet) when the trees arrive, and you can't plant right away, keep the roots moist and store the trees in a cool location.

The scent of a tomato plant is heady stuff to Bob Nixon. "Some guys love Old Spice, but the fragrance of tomato leaves is pretty special, too - if you already have a wife," the Clarksville resident said. A tomato aficionado for decades, Nixon, 68, has packaged his advice along with that of 25 other Howard County master gardeners into a PowerPoint program and handout titled "How to Grow Great Tomatoes." He has talked about gardening to many groups in recent years, but he has given his new presentation only once, to a Rotary Club in Prince George's County.

"You think I'd crumble? You think I'd lay down and die? Oh no, not I. I will survive!" So sang Gloria Gaynor in 1978. And sure enough, there are plants alive today that were thriving when disco was king. There are plants that are practically guaranteed to make it in your garden, even if they are the very first you've ever planted. Note that adverb: "practically." No plant can live without the basics: water, sunlight, good soil and, most important, the right site. So choose and prepare your site carefully, add water and fertilizer as needed - and chances are very, very good that these plants will survive, and even make you proud.

Researchers used compost on Baltimore yards to demonstrate a technique for fighting the city's tragic lead-poisoning problem. Why is it OK to accuse them of using "sludge"? It's not. The compost that was used in this 2000 study is called Orgro. It's used and sold all around Baltimore. In fact, it's been made since 1988 at a composting facility owned by the city. It's labeled "Class A," meeting the highest federal and state standards for compost. Yes, this compost is made in part from what are properly called "biosolids," which come from a Baltimore wastewater treatment plant.

A Senate committee led by California Sen. Barbara Boxer plans to look into government funding of studies that put fertilizer made from treated human and industrial waste on the lawns of East Baltimore rowhouses and a vacant lot near a school in East St. Louis, Ill. Additionally, the president of the Maryland NAACP said yesterday that he is asking federal and state officials to launch a criminal investigation. The sludge was used to see if it could be a cheap way to clean up lead-contaminated soil - and ultimately to see whether cleaner soil would protect children from lead poisoning.

So stunning were the lush roses, the camellia and a single yellow-berried holly flanking the Guilford Tudor that Faye Coscia, a transplant from Dallas, bought the home late last year. Through the doldrums of winter, Coscia watched her beds of perennials, bushes and a vast vegetable garden lie dormant, all the while longing to muddy her hands in preparation for an abundant flowering come spring. "I actually bought the house for the garden," said Coscia, who was searching at a garden store yesterday for a sturdy pair of shears.

Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs and plant a tree; these are the most popular strategies for mitigating climate change today. Yet world leaders gathered for the climate-change summit in Bali, Indonesia, this week should consider an alternative. It's one of the most overlooked yet most effective and inexpensive strategies available: Store carbon in the soil. This is one way Earth has managed carbon since it began. Earth's soil contains the second-largest quantity of carbon, where it has been the most stable and least vulnerable to fires and climate changes.

A little black and white woodpecker is pecking a sizable hole in my house siding. How can I stop it? Your description fits that of a downy woodpecker. You could try hanging a temporary veil of bird netting or cover the area with wire hardware cloth. These birds are protected and are generally beneficial when they eat insects that bore into trees. Where practical, try leaving dead or downed trees for them to use for nests and food sources. I want to plant a balled and burlaped Christmas tree after the holidays.

The Sun is committed to providing fair and accurate coverage. Readers who have concerns or comments are encouraged to call Paul Moore, the newspaper's public editor. He can be reached at 410-332-6364 or toll free at 1-800-829-8000, ext 6364, or by e-mail at publiceditor@baltsun.com An article Oct. 27 described a report by the U.S. health department's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease on the increased risk of cancer associated with arsenic in the soil of South Baltimore's Swann Park.