ASK THE GARDENERS. Questions & Answers.

Q This is the second year we have grown potatoes. They are a late variety and vines stayed green a long time, perhaps because of abundant rain. The harvested tubers are much larger than last year. Another difference is that practically all of them are hollow. Some are even showing evidence of sprouting.

Could you please explain? B.E.F. Flint, Mich.

Your area, as did many in the Eastern states, had more rainfall than normal, especially late in the season. This caused exteriors of tubers to grow faster than the centers could be filled in, leaving the hollow spaces. Excess rain caused may problems for gardeners (and farmers)! Our mail indicates that dry beans either sprouted in pods or molded, and tomato problems included slow ripening, watery flesh, and rotting. The late rains appear to have broken dormancy of some potato tubers.

If you have a question about your garden, inside or out, send it, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope, to the Garden Page, The Christian Science Monitor, One Norway Street, Boston, MA 02115.