General Garden Info
Drought – Planting During
Sometimes I hate following my own advice. I hate it especially when it concerns properly digging a bed for planting. Georgia summers can be dry and miserable. Unbroken bright sunshine, temperatures in the nineties and humidity thick enough to can....
Garden Books – Recommended
I owe many things to my Aunt Elizabeth…. but the thing for which I am most indebted is her annual gift of reading material. When I was a young teen, she gave me a subscription to Boy’s Life magazine, which...
Garden Magazines – Recommended
These magazines are tops for good articles and photographs. A year’s subscription keeps a favorite gardener thinking about you regularly. Georgia Gardening (888)265-3600 Fine Gardening (800) 477-8727 Organic Gardening (800) 666-2206 Horticulture (800) 234-2415 Green Prints “The Weeder’s...
Rain Barrels – Using
With summer temperatures in the nineties, creative gardeners think seriously about where to get more water. I’ve received several questions about rainwater collection this summer. Jeff Bentley wrote “I want to add a cistern to my home so I can...
Rain Barrels – Buying
How to Make a Rain Barrel LOCAL SOURCES OF RAIN BARRELS Noah’s Rain Barrel Steve Golden 404-210-7061 Email: noahsrainbarrel@comcast.net Brookhaven Rain Barrels Pat Magee (404) 364-0440 Rain Barrels in Georgia Many local hardware stores offer assembled rain barrels or kits...
Soil Testing – Why
Once upon a time, farmers tested their soil by tasting it. Cupping a handful in front of their face, they would inhale its aroma and tentatively touch the dirt with their tongue. “Time to spread some lime and gu-anner” they’d...
Powdery Mildew – Control
Powdery mildew is a common disease of summer. It begins when we have cool nighttime temperatures coupled with warm, humid days. Symptoms continue even when days are warmer. Powdery mildew is a “parasitic” fungus. It rests on the leaf surface...
Secrets for Beginner Gardeners
Warm weather the last couple of weekends really brought out the gardening masses! I visited three different garden centers one weekend and found all of them packed. I was in line behind a young couple one Saturday and overheard their...
Plant Names – Deciphering
I’ve been thinking recently about the mystification that plant “common names” can present to gardeners. Common names are just the familiar names we attach to plants: maypop, skunk cabbage, obedient plant and a host of others. They aid our pronunciation...
Wood Chips – Using
Wood chips are an inexpensive mulch and ground cover. Tree companies are often glad to dump their chip truck in a homeowner’s yard – the company doesn’t have to pay a disposal fee and the homeowner gets free mulch. Jim...
Maintenance Matters
If you attended the “Maintenance Matters!” class at Evening at Emory, I promised you could download the whole thing and study it at your leisure. Here it is! Click here to download “Maintenance...
Garden Phrases – Misunderstood
I was reading late at night recently when I came upon a phrase that chilled my soul: “Dress with dried blood to accelerate.” Did it concern the latest Hollywood terror flick? Was it directions for driving a getaway car? Are...
Compost – Why We Do it
“My whole life has been spent waiting for an epiphany, a manifestation of God’s presence, the kind of transcendent, magical experience that lets you see your place in the big picture. And that is what I had with my first...
Drought – Watering Rules – Current June, 2011
As of June 1, 2010, the following watering rules apply: Persons may irrigate outdoors daily for purposes of planting, growing, managing, or maintaining ground cover, trees, shrubs, or other plants only from 4 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. The following outdoor...
IPM – Discussed and Defined
I value the opinion of Dr. Paul Guillebeau, entomologist and pesticide specialist at the University of Georgia. He tries his best to see both sides of the pesticide question without preaching too loudly. Below are his thoughts on Integrated Pest...
Theresa Schrum’s Comments on Hardiness Zones
Theresa Schrum’s Comments on Hardiness Zones I currently tell people that if they live inside the perimeter or in south metro Atlanta, they can consider themselves 8a and those north of line running across Cobb to Gwinnett Counties are in...
