ASK THE PLANT AND PEST PROFESSOR | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

Neem oil is an effective botanical insecticide that does the job and is safe for an eating crop. It also will control grape berry moth.

My azaleas, lilac, redbud, hostas and pachysandras all look terrible, but I see no insects on them. Is this a blight?

No. Keep in mind that diseases and insects are usually fairly specialized, affecting only one type of plant. (An exception would be general feeders, such as Japanese beetles.) When you see problems affecting widely different species of plants, the problems are undoubtedly environmental or cultural, for example too much or too little water, drainage, or herbicide damage.

When do I pick my gourds?

You can harvest gourds as soon as the stems are dry and brown, but be sure to harvest before a hard frost which can damage them. Leave a few inches of stem attached. Wash with soap and water, then dry. Wiping the surface with alcohol will retard deterioration.

Crabgrass has taken over my lawn, which is half-dead from the drought. What should I take care of first?

Kill two birds with one stone by overseeding your lawn in early fall. (This is the best time to plant grass seed, because it gives the baby grass three cool damp seasons to grow before it hits a hot dry summer.) Crabgrass is an annual grass and the mature plants will die this fall. It requires sunlight to germinate.

Next spring your new thick turf will shade out crabgrass seedlings. For good crabgrass control, most Maryland lawns need an application of crabgrass pre-emergent herbicide in the spring, too.

"Ask the Plant and Pest Professor" is compiled from questions asked of the Home and Garden Information Center, part of Maryland Cooperative Extension, an educational outreach of the University of Maryland. To ask a home gardening or pest control question or get other help, go to www.hgic.umd.edu or phone HGIC at 1-800-342-2507, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.