How-To Archive
History of Walter Reeves’ Radio Career
1980 – 1991 Special guest on “Metro Extension 103”, forty 30-minute shows on V-103 FM. 1984 – 1986 Hosted 15 two-hour call-in gardening shows on WGST-AM, in rotation with other Extension service agents 1989 – 1994 Wrote and voiced 50...
Testing Potting Soil Quality
There are no hard and fast rules about how fast good quality potting soil should drain or how much water it should retain. Here is one way to compare the difference between two products you are considering. For each one:...
Mulch – Way Too Deep
Local landscape designer Lyle Collins noticed some really deep mulch installed by a professional company around crapemyrtles. I see it too. It’s called “volcano mulching” and it is never good for trees. Moisture held around the trunk leads to rot...
France and Italy Trip – 2016
In response to several requests, I’m hosting a trip to southern France and Italy on May 29 – June 9, 2016! Northern Italy, Southern France and Provence seem to make seasoned travelers swoon. “It is just so beautiful… and the...
Come With Me to Holland for the 2015 Tulip Festival!
This is going to be amazing! I have worked with my long-time tour company operators, Earthbound Expeditions, to charter a river cruise boat in late April, 2015 during the height of the tulip festival in Amsterdam! We will, of course,...
Cuba Trip 2014 – Our Group
Twenty three curious and enthusiastic Cuban travelers had a great time exploring the gardens, culture, and history of Cuba looking forward to a great meal at a local restaurant more hungry people! group at Cienfuegos Botanical Garden where are our...
Cuba Trip 2014 – Cars and Transportation
Anything with wheels can be adapted into some mode of transportation in...
Cuba Trip 2014 – Pictures
I recently returned from my third trip to a country that fascinates me: Cuba. This was a legal “people to people” trip, permitted and sanctioned by the U.S. State Department. Accompanied by 23 equally fascinating travelers, we were able to visit organic...
Cuba Trip 2014 – Food
Every meal included rice and beans but we usually had a choice of pork, chicken or fish…and sometimes shrimp and...
Cuba Trip 2014 – Plants
We visited an organic cooperative farm, two national botanical gardens and a mountaintop nature...
Rose – Black Spot Control
I have never found a rose that was one hundred percent resistant to black spot, the most common rose disease. The tell-tale yellow leaves adorn roses throughout Atlanta to one extent or another. The best way to avoid black spot...
“English Ivy Kills Trees” Sign – Who Places Them?
OK – my curiosity is killing me! Who puts up these signs at random spots around Atlanta? I’ve asked a number of arborists: No knowledge. I’ve posted it on Facebook; 21,000 people saw the post: lots of comments, but no...
English Ivy – Control Tips
It’s a vine lots of gardeners want to control in their landscape. English ivy can smother woodland plants, can provide a hiding place for critters and can be detrimental to tree health. Here are quick tips on how to control...
Is It Warm Enough to Plant Vegetable Seed?
Warm afternoons in early spring mightily tempt the gardener to get out and plant something. But though the air is warm, the soil is still cold…and seeds planted in cold soil typically rot before germinating. I found a great resource...
Upside Down Daffodils
I love to experiment with my plants! When I was asked last fall if planting daffodils upside down would retard blooming, I could envision exactly how to test the hypothesis. I planted two beds of daffodils and divided each bed...
Honeybee Swarm – Capturing
The first warm days of March trigger honeybees to look around and decide whether to stay in their hive or to follow a new queen into the wild blue yonder. Although the swarm of bees following the queen may number...
Microgreens – Growing
What a great indoor spring project: grow microgreens as we wait for spring to arrive. These are seeds of different types of plants that we sprout indoors to add to salads, sandwiches, and what we cook to give us fresh-picked...
