Q: David, I have fig ivy growing on the side of my house. It is suddenly growing vigorously and seems to be bearing fruit. Could that really be figs?

A: Yes, those are really figs, but I doubt that they are edible. As the vine ages and starts putting out horizontal branches, these branches will have the fruit.

Q: Mr. Rodriguez, should tomato plants be topped? Mine are getting very tall and have quite a few green tomatoes. How often to water them now that the rain has stopped?

A: No, the tomato plants should not be topped. They need those leaves to shade the fruit as well as manufacture food for the plant and fruit. You water them often enough to keep them from wilting. I cannot tell you whether that is daily, every other day or what.

Q: I have been deadheading my petunias, but they are getting leggy and not looking good. What else can I do? I am new this area.

Q: Cut them back severely (to maybe 6 inches), fertilize them with any good high nitrogen (first number) and they will put on new growth. However, with the heat of summer upon us, petunias are not going to thrive. They prefer the cooler weather of spring and fall.

Q: David, I am an avid backyard vegetable gardener. Due to extreme shortage of pollinators, please tell me if and exactly how to artificially pollinate.

A: This may be as simple as shaking the plant if it is one that has individual flowers containing both male and female parts, such as tomatoes and peppers. If the plant has separate male and female flowers like all of the cucurbits, then it is a matter of transferring pollen from the male flower (the one on the long stem) to the female flower (the one with the small fruit behind it). You can do this using something like a Q-tip or small brush, or you can just break off a male flower, peel back the flower petals and brush it against the female flower. To be effective, both have to be blossoms that opened that same day.

Special thanks to Forrest W. Appleton and all the Master Gardeners of the “Gardening Hotline” in support of the weekly gardening questions and answers.

Listen to a live broadcast of the Garden Show with David Rodriguez and Bill Rohde on WOAI-1200 AM every Saturday morning, between 8 and 11 a.m., and call in your gardening questions at 737-1200 or (800) 383-9624.

David Rodriguez is the county extension agent-horticulture for Bexar County. He represents Texas Cooperative Extension with the Texas A&M University System. For any landscape or gardening information, call the Bexar County Master Gardeners Hotline at 467-6575, e-mail questions to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or visit the county extension Web site at http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu/.