Garden Detective: Helping hydrangeas

Another factor could be too much sunlight. Hydrangeas perform best in shade, and full sun could be causing their leaves to dry and curl. That wouldn't explain the discoloration of the leaves, unless they turned dark brown (as most dry leaves do) and not actually black.

The third consideration is that your plants were attacked by aphids. This is absolutely possible but the least likely, because your eight plants are located in two separate garden areas. Aphids are tiny, pinhead-sized insects that attach themselves to the undersides of leaves, where they go largely unnoticed. They sink their piercing, sucking mouthparts into the leaves and suck out the sap. Then they excrete a sticky substance called honeydew, upon which black, sooty mold grows. So that could be the black that you're seeing. If you see small dots under your plants' leaves, treat them with Neem oil, following package directions. The holes in the leaves likely were caused by caterpillars or rose chafers, both of which also can be treated with Neem oil, which also works to resolve fungus and diseases.

So, to recap: Change your watering practices, consider sun exposure and treat with Neem oil. Good luck!

Evan Gottesman, 8, of Farmingville, and his grandpa, Sal Ferrante of West Islip, started tomato seeds -- and peppers, beans, cucumbers and beets -- indoors, then Evan transplanted the seedlings to his square-foot outdoor vegetable garden. We're looking forward to meeting Evan and his grandpa later this summer at the Great Long Island Tomato Challenge.

Are you in? Mark your calendars: This year's contest will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 23 at Newsday headquarters (235 Pinelawn Rd., Melville). Give your plants plenty of tender loving care all summer long, then bring your biggest, heaviest ripe fruit to the event. Garden Detective Jessica Damiano will weigh your tomatoes personally and crown the 2013 Tomato King or Queen.

In the meantime, send a photo of yourself with your tomato plants, along with details about your growing strategy, to jessica.damiano@newsday.com, and you might be featured next.