Q: Brown spots are appearing on the leaves of my tomato plant. The tomatoes are still small and green. Last year these same spots appeared, and the leaves died, and the tomatoes stopped growing. What can I do to keep the plants alive this summer?

A: This is the time of year that tomatoes often become infected with different kinds of leaf spot, a plant disease. Septoria leaf spot is a fungal disease that produces many small, dark-brown spots. Early blight is a fungal disease that produces much larger brown spots that may have rings around them (like tree rings).

Both diseases tend to infect and kill the leaves on the bottom of the plant first and work their way upward. They start at the bottom because the fungal spores infect the plants when they're much smaller. The spores start growing when the weather is damp, and the leaves show symptoms weeks later. If the weather is now dry, the fungus may not infect more of the plant, especially if you pluck off the lower, infected leaves.

Keeping the leaves dry and off the ground will help slow the disease spread. Water the plant on the ground rather than spraying water over the top of it. Of course, you can't prevent rain from wetting the plant. In addition, using cages or stakes to keep the leaves off the ground is better. You can also plant the tomato plants far enough apart so air can circulate around the plants and keep the leaves dry. Use mulch in the garden to keep mud from splashing on the plants.

Next spring, look for tomato plants that are resistant to these diseases. If you think it's worth spraying the plants with a fungicide, use one with the active ingredient chlorothalonil because it can be used until the day of harvest, meaning you don't have to wait longer to harvest your tomatoes. Although, you could harvest before spraying the plants if it is nearly time to harvest.

Q: My mother deadheads the flowers in her pots and hanging baskets, but they still stop producing flowers over the summer. I have inspected some of them. They still seem to be producing seed heads. What can be done so the plants continue blooming?

A: I wonder if she is deadheading correctly. I have had to show a few people how to do it the right way. Some people seem to think deadheading is pulling off or snipping the flower petals, but actually it is removing the whole flower head.

Take petunias, for example. They are notorious for not flowering or for ending up with a few flowers on the ends of long branches — as opposed to all along the branches — over summer. The showy part of the petunia flower is a group of petals fused into a trumpet shape. It withers after a few days of blooming. It can be easily pulled off the plant. The green stalk that is left contains the flower's ovary, and the seeds will develop there. I use scissors to snip the green stalk. This removes the seedpod and the petals. With the seedpod removed, the plant will often send out a side shoot that will produce more flowers along the sides of the original stem.

It could also be that the fertilizer is all used up. Try adding a slow-release fertilizer that will promote flowers, such as one used for roses or tomatoes.

Email questions to Jeff Rugg at info@greenerview.com. 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.