Landscaping
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...
Gardeners Play With pH
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the importance of soil testing and the role of pH in plant health. I gave instructions on how to collect a soil sample and have it tested. In the days following, several...
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...
Chromosome Numbers of Plants and Animals
Sometimes a Dad has to be a Dad…….. When my son was studying biology in the ninth grade, he and I got into a discussion of whether organisms with identical numbers of chromosomes would be identical. He said they would...
What to Do After the Easter 2007 Freeze
An extremely warm March in 2007 was followed by a two-day dip to 27 degrees on April 6 & 7. Many plants had made substantial new growth before the cold snap. After the cold, many shrubs and trees, including crapemyrtle,...
Seed – Saving
This past spring, a friend gave me three seeds from a giant gourd. He assured me that if I planted the seeds in warm soil I would have gourds like the beachball-sized one he held in his arms. Unfortunately, I...
Lawn – Watering Correctly
Plants must have water to survive. Water in a plant is like blood in an animal. Water carries dissolved nutrients, sugars and hormones throughout the plant’s system. Some plants can go for long periods receiving only minimal water. Others require...
Drought – Watering Flowers
Plants must have water to survive. Water in a plant is like blood in an animal. Water carries dissolved nutrients, sugars and hormones throughout the plant’s system. Some plants can go for long periods receiving only minimal water. Others require...
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....
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...
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...
Drought – Watering Rules – Current June, 2012
Starting on June 1, 2010, the following watering rules became law: 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...
