Can sweet corn be planted near popcorn in the garden? 
Sweet corn should be isolated from popcorn and field corn to prevent cross-pollination. The quality of the sweet corn will be lowered if it’s cross-pollinated by other types of corn.  For example, sweet corn pollinated by popcorn will be tough and starchy. Cross-pollination can be prevented by planting sweet corn 250 feet away from other types of corn. Cross-pollination also can be avoided by planting the various types so they mature (tassel) at different times and by avoiding prevailing winds when planting. 

My purple raspberry canes grow several feet tall and eventually flop over onto the ground.  What can be done to prevent this? 
The shoot tips of purple and black raspberries should be pinched or cut off when the new growth reaches a height of 36 to 48 inches. Remove the top 3 to 4 inches of the shoots. Pinching encourages lateral shoot development and increases the fruiting surface area, resulting in higher yields. Since all the new canes will not reach the desired height at the same time, it will be necessary to go over the planting about once a week from late May to late July. Shoot tip removal can be discontinued at the end of July. Those canes that develop after July will be small, weak, and unproductive and should be pruned out the following spring. 

Why are my green ash trees dropping leaves? 
The leaf drop is probably due to anthracnose. Anthracnose is a common fungal disease of trees in Iowa.  Anthracnose may occur on ash, sycamore, maple, oak, walnut and other deciduous trees. Cool, rainy weather in spring favors anthracnose development. Symptoms of anthracnose vary with the tree species. On ash, brown or black blotches typically appear on the leaflets. Affected leaflets often become distorted (they tend to curl toward the blighted areas) and fall from the trees. 

Fortunately, anthracnose does not cause serious harm to healthy, well-established trees. The affected trees will continue to leaf out. Leaves that develop later in spring are usually not affected as weather conditions are less favorable for anthracnose development. There is no need to apply a fungicide to affected trees. 

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