Q: We planted peppers in our garden two months ago, and they have only grown a couple of inches in height. The one small pepper that was on one plant when we got it has grown bigger but is not full sized yet. There may have been a few flowers but they must have fallen off or not been pollinated. What is going wrong and is there anything we can do at this point in the season?

A: I think your peppers have a root problem. Small transplants in a vegetable garden should only take a couple of weeks to get a root system out of the original size and growing into the surrounding soil. Soil that is full of clay, too dry or too wet will not let roots grow. If the roots cannot grow, then the top of the plant will not grow well. The plant will just languish.

This is true of any transplanted plant. Roots have to grow first before the top can start being productive. If the roots encounter a problem, the top of the plant will too. Can you tell why the soil is bad and the roots are not growing? At this point in the season it may be reasonable to dig out one plant to see if the roots are still small. If they are, is the soil waterlogged or is there some other reason that the roots did not grow? Before planting next year, try to fix the soil before planting.

Q: How do I turn my hydrangea flowers blue?

A: White blooming hydrangeas can never bloom pink or blue. Occasionally, as the white flowers finish blooming they might take on a pink or rusty red blush.

Varieties that are pink or blue can change depending on how much aluminum in the soil is available to the plant. Changing the pH of the soil helps determine how much aluminum is available to the plant and the flower color will change accordingly.

Adding aluminum sulfate to the soil around the plant will help create blue flowers. A soil pH of around 5 to 5.5 is necessary for the plant to be able to take the aluminum from the soil. The aluminum and low pH must be the plant's soil condition for the whole growing season. One application of aluminum sulfate is not going to work. The fertilizer should be low in phosphorus and high in potassium, such as a 25-5-30 fertilizer.

Pink hydrangea flowers must not take aluminum from the soil if it is there. Add dolomitic lime to get the soil above pH 6.0. The problem comes when the pH goes up above 7 and the plant can't pick up iron and the leaves turn yellow with green veins. Use a fertilizer with a higher middle number and lower last number than the blue hydrangea, such as a 25-10-10.

Q: Our garden and landscape are being overrun with grasshoppers. Nothing we spray seems to stop them. Please help before the plague kills all our plants.

A: The problem with grasshoppers is that they move around so much. Your sprays may have killed lots of grasshoppers, but more may have moved in. Insecticides with permethrin as the active ingredient work well, especially on small grasshoppers. These products should be labeled for vegetable garden use.

A grasshopper trap can be used in the garden. Take a look at the HopperStopper.com website for details.

Nearby grasslands may be the source of the grasshoppers. A slower acting organic control that only affects grasshoppers is the use of the protozoan Nosema locustae. Since these products take several weeks to take effect they may not be helpful to you, but they will reduce the population in a large area, such as a grassland. Take a look at Grasshopper Attack and NOLO Bait.

Email questions to Jeff Rugg at [email protected]. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.