Tools and Chemicals
Georgia Pest Management Handbook
If you want to know the latest recommendations on the best pesticides to use in your landscape or garden, your first resource should be the Georgia Pest Management Handbook. It contains excellent list of pests and diseases that attack lawns,...
Spinosad
Spinosad is a useful organic insecticide. It is derived from a naturally occurring soil bacteria, Saccropolyspora spinosa, which happens to be deadly to insects but not to animals. Spinosad is found in bait products for fire ant control as well...
Systemic Insecticide
Systemic insecticides kill insects by being drawn up into the sap of a plant before insects attack. When a pest insect drinks the plant’s sap, it is poisoned by the insecticide. When a harmless insect simply lights on the plant,...
University of Georgia Soil Test Handbook
If you want to get behind the science of how fertilizer recommendations are made, there is no better source than the University of Georgia Soil Test Handbook. This large publication is developed with the collaboration of soil scientists and plant...
Lawn Insecticides
Lawn insecticides are labeled for controlling insects in a lawn. The insecticide may be a bait or a broadcast product. Synthetic (non-organic) insecticides are usually pyrethroid chemicals. These chemicals originated in the organic insecticide pyrethrin. Pyrethroids are chemivals that have...
Science Project – Effects of Vitamins on Plants
This link discusses the research of scientists in India who soaked pearl millet seeds in various vitamin solutions. The results indicated that vitamins reduced the incidence of disease. This would be an excellent science project. Try soaking alfalfa seed or...
Bayer Product Labels
These product labels are current in 2007 Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub Insecticide Bayer Bermudagrass Control for Lawns Bayer Termite Killer Granules Bayer All in 1 Weed & Crabgrass...
De-Icers – Damage to Plants
When ice and snow pile up it’s not unusual to reach for a deicing product to help melt the frozen stuff. Deicers work by lowering the freezing point of water, creating a brine (chemical-water solution). This allows water to evaporate,...
Tools (Gifts) – Recommended by Gardeners
A couple of weeks ago I listed several garden tools to which I am particularly partial when performing garden chores. I invited readers to tell me which tools they found especially useful. Jim Wallace responded “I am encouraged on two...
Tools (Gifts) – Choosing
I was out working in the garden last weekend, doing final cleanup chores for the winter. I’m a rather haphazard gardener so in the process of cleaning up I discovered several tools I’d mislaid during the summer. The wooden handle...
Wood Ashes – Use as Plant Fertilizer
On a cold winter weekend, nothing is cozier than a fire in the fireplace. But when the fire has died, you’re faced with the chore of cleaning out the ashes and disposing of them. Rather than putting them in the...
Labels – Read Before Buying
Some people collect stamps. Others accumulate coins. I collect garden product labels. I don’t actually collect the labels. Rather, I make it a habit to cruise the aisles of each garden center, nursery or home improvement store I visit, examining...
LiquiVac Lawnmower Oil Change System
I often get products to review. Many of them are quite handy. Visit my “Cool Tools and Funky Fertilizers” page for a list. The most recent is the LiquiVac. It worked like a charm to remove the oil from two...
Foaming Root Killer
From a reader:We planted a river birch near the house four years ago in honor of my mother after she died. We couldn’t figure how it was growing so fast but we found out the hard way: a sewage back...
Cool Tools and Funky Fertilizers
Items I’ve collected or that have been sent to me to evaluate: Tools: Cobra Head weeder Coneivore pine cone picker-upper Water Weeder Oxo Garden Knife Deer Chaser Birdcam ScareCrow or Spray Away Garden Flamer flame weeder orBernzomatic flame weeder Solid...
Power Tools – Vibration Injury to Hands
If you run a chain saw, leaf blower or rototiller for several hours without gloves, your fingers will probably feel numb or “tingly” afterwards. Repeated exposure to severe vibration can result in Raynaud’s Syndrome (often called “Vibration White Finger.”) The...
Pyrethrin Insecticide – Homemade
Taken from http://www.comfycountrycreations.com/bugspray.htm The dried, powdered flowers of the pyrethrum daisy, Tanacetum cinerarifolium, were used as early as 1880 to control mosquitoes. The popularity of pyrethrum insecticides waned when synthetic insecticides were introduced, but they are now enjoying a commercial...
Science Project – Effect of Vibration on Plants
This is an idea for measuring the effect of vibration on the growth of plants. Scientists in Japan found that vibrating peach tree limbs caused them to be dwarf. The Effect of Vibration on Peach...
Organic Herbicides
Many homeowners want “organic” choices when it comes to selecting weed killers. Vinegar (acetic acid) has been touted as a herbicide, as have several other materials. However, when using an organic herbicide, a gardener must realize that the results will...
Sources of Professional-Quality Tools
I did a lot of research before buying a backpack blower recently. My main source of information was Rick Upchurch at NatureScapes Landscaping. He said that most maintenance companies, including his, rely on Stihl brand blowers. When I went looking...
