Best Management Practices to Protect Water
Georgia will have to make some hard choices about water management in the next several years.

We have plenty of water more...

CD's YIELD 3.5% - PLANTS YIELD 400%
My mother explained it to me carefully: I should give her my newly earned $5.00 and we would open a savings account for me. I more...

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 discu more...

Clay Pots - Cleaning
If you have several clay pots that contained annual flowers on your patio last summer, now is a good time to clean them befo more...

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 e more...

Daryl Pulis’ Comments on Hardiness Zones
Daryl Pulis’ Comments on Hardiness Zones

If I remember correctly, the proposed 2003 AHS Zone map was such a mess that more...

DeKalb County Free Compost Sites
DeKalb County composts yard waste and makes it available to citizens at four sites.

The county gives instructions and more...

Drought - A Brief History in Georgia
Each year that Georgia suffers through a dry summer, we proclaim that it is an unusual occurrence...a "Drought of the Century more...

Drought - Graywater Legal Issues
Gray Water - It’s a Gray Area
by Ben Emanuel
The Flagpole
Athens, GA

originally published October 17, 2007
more...

Drought - Planting During
Sometimes I hate following my own advice. I hate it especially when it concerns properly digging a bed for planting.

T more...

Drought - Summary of Current Information
Currently there is no central website to address water restrictions and drought-coping information for Georgia. This is my at more...

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 more...

Drought - Watering Lawns
Plants must have water to survive. Water in a plant is like blood in an animal. Water carries dissolved nutrients, sugars and more...

Drought - Watering Rules
Georgia watering rules are finally somewhat coherent.

As of June 10, 2009, Georgia returns to "non-drought watering r more...

Drought - Watering Shrubs
Plants must have water to survive. Water in a plant is like blood in an animal. Water carries dissolved nutrients, sugars and more...

Drought - Watering Trees
Plants must have water to survive. Water in a plant is like blood in an animal. Water carries dissolved nutrients, sugars and more...

Extension Offices - Odd Questions
University of Georgia Extension offices are sometimes the place of last resort for people with odd questions. Extension agent more...

Fall Planting - When is Too Late
It has long been known that it is beneficial to plant trees and shrubs in fall. Warm soil stimulates roots to grow but cool a more...

Fertilizer - How to Buy
I recently saw a description of a fertilizer in a newspaper. It said that a 12 ounce bottle of the stuff provided the same le more...

Freeze Damage - Identifying
The damage from cold weather sometimes doesn't show up for several days or even weeks. Diagnosing the problem is part memory more...

Freeze Damage - Observations from Gardeners
Gardener notes on April 2007 freeze damage
more...

Frost - Predicting First
Predicting the date of the first frost is tricky. And while it may not cause gnashing of landscapers' teeth like an unexpecte more...

Frost - Predicting Last
What do the records show about the last frost in the spring? Using 32 degrees as the reference point, the most likely date fo more...

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. more...

Garden Magazines - Recommended
These magazines are tops for good articles and photographs. A year’s subscription keeps a favorite gardener thinking about yo more...

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.”< more...

Garden Phrases - Misunderstood by Some
I was reading late at night recently when I came upon a phrase that chilled my soul: “Dress with dried blood to accelerate.”< more...

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 more...

Gardening - Yields Unexpected Results
My friend Vickey C. once gave me a few plants of Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon) for my shady back yard. I p more...

Graywater - Using
The use of graywater is a gray subject.

Graywater is water from your bathtub, laundry or bathroom sink.

Plants more...

Gypsum - as Soil Amendment
Gardeners are no different from other folks - they want to accomplish more work with less effort. One of the biggest jobs whe more...

Horse Manure - Delivered!
Free Horse Manure! more...

Horticulture Courses - Online
You don’t have to go to college in order to be a college student.Whether you want to expand your knowledge, investigate a new more...

IPM - Discussed and Defined
I value the opinion of Dr. Paul Guillebeau, entomologist and pesticide specialist at the University of Georgia. He tries his more...

John Travolta - Gardener??
“Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah....Stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive....”

The disco beat propelled John Travolta (as Vinnie Lambrusca) acro more...

Lime - Different kinds
Quicklime (calcium oxide) is a white solid having a crystalline structure. Quicklime is highly reactive with water, ge more...

Maintenance Matters
If you attended the "Maintenance Matters!" class at Evening at Emory, I promised you could download the whole thing and study more...

Mary Kay Woodworth’s Comments on Hardiness Zones
Mary Kay Woodworth’s Comments on Hardiness Zones

For the cautious and new gardener, I stick with 7b, but also suggest more...

Mulch Myths
One day he’ll finally crack. My across-the-street neighbor, Carl, has a roof covered with pine needles. I need pine needles r more...

Mulch – More Myths
It is hard to mess up making macaroni and cheese from a box, but somehow I did it. During a recent kitchen foray, I mixed in more...

Mysterious Clay Particles
This garden mystery started innocently enough. In July, I got an email from M. D. in Hall county:

more...

Mysterious Clay Particles - Reader Theories
Reader theories on the origin of more...

Mysterious Clay Particles Conclusion
I LOVE IT when science and personal observation prevail!

Initially I theorized that cicada killer wasps were dr more...

Ordering Plants from a Catalog
Few couples can remember the subject of their first serious argument.

I can.

I even remember that it occurred more...

Pike's Pick (Cool Plant)
Each weekend, Theresa Schrum describes a particularly noteworthy plant more...

Plant Identification- Resources
My fourth-grade neighbor Chrissy has taught me more about the insects that live in my neighborhood than any adult possibly co more...

Plant Names - Deciphering
I’ve been thinking recently about the mystification that plant “common names” can present to gardeners. Common names are just more...

Plant Societies - Locating
Lois M., who describes herself as “a seventy year old gardener who has been enjoying tomatoes, squash, beans and peppers from more...

Planting zones- Explanation
I was following a slow-moving compact car on a suburban street last week when it suddenly pulled to the right and decelerated more...

Plants Called Grasses That Are Not Grasses
When I mow my lawn, I say that I am cutting my grass. But many plants are called “grass” without really being a grass. The we more...

Plants of the Bible and Middle East
Plant enthusiasts come in all stripes. There have been many attempts to create "Biblical gardens" using plants mentioned in t more...

Poisonous Plants
Through a good part of my childhood, one voice of authority manifested with equal weight alongside the commandments of my par more...

Pollination - In Your Garden
One of the most delightfully informative garden books I’ve ever read is “Sex in Your Garden” by Angela Overy (Fulcrum Publish more...

Powdery Mildew - Control
Powdery mildew is a common disease of summer. It begins when we have cool nighttime temperatures coupled with warm, humid day more...

Pressure-treated Wood - Safety
Pressure-treated lumber (sold prior to 2004) has come under fire as dangerous to those who use it in the landscape.

Th more...

Protecting Plants from a Spring Cold Snap
Georgia is famous for spells of warm weather in early spring that are followed by a couple of days below freezing.

Th more...

Rain Barrel - Homemade #1
Dru C. Contributes this:

Because of the severe drought in Georgia, I have struggled with guilt all summer watching my more...

Rain Barrel - Homemade #2
Bob R. got inventive!

"When I moved into my home four years ago I had the roof drains piped to the downsloped edge of more...

Rain Barrel - Homemade #3
Grant P. went all out with his design:

I thought I’d send you a refined rain barrel design I worked out. I looked at more...

Rain Barrels - Buying


How to Make a Rain Barrelmore...

Rain Barrels - Commercial Rain Harvesting Systems
The money- and water-saving potential for rainwater harvesting has caught the eye of companies in Atlanta.

more...

Rain Barrels - Downspout Diverter
One of the puzzles of connecting a rain barrel to your gutter system is how to divert water from the barrel when it is full.< more...

Rain Barrels - Using
With summer temperatures in the nineties, creative gardeners think seriously about where to get more water. I’ve received sev more...

Rat - Chewing Tree Bark
Paul H. solved his own tree mystery. I’ll allow his words to tell the tale:

“In August I sent you an e-mail concernin more...

Recommended Garden Books
Looking for a gift for that gardener who seems to have everything they need for their garden? Most diggers in the dirt enjoy more...

Recommended Garden Magazines
These magazines are tops for good articles and photographs. A year’s subscription keeps a favorite gardener thinking about yo more...

Secrets for Beginner Gardeners
Warm weather the last couple of weekends really brought out the gardening masses! I visited three different garden centers on more...

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 w more...

Shannon Pable’s Comments on Hardiness Zones
Shannon Pable’s Comments on Hardiness Zones

I typically refer to the 11 zone, 1960 map since that's what is still bein more...

Sinkholes - in the Landscape
Occasionally, the news pictures from Florida are unbelievable! A car dealership that falls into a sinkhole?!! Could that big more...

Sinkholes in the Landscape
Sinkholes in the yard are an unfortunate but common problem that may arise five to ten years after a home is constructed. The more...

Soil - Amending
Homeowners often want to amend their existing soil to make it better. Planting grass seed or laying sod on hard, unfertile so more...

Soil - Defining
I was explaining to someone recently that flowering cherry trees absolutely require well-drained soil to succeed. “Well, that more...

Soil - Percolation Rate
Throughout my childhood, I was awakened each morning by the sound and smell of percolating coffee. After a hearty cup of Maxw more...

Soil Temperature - Monitoring
My son and I had just arrived the first day at our ski hotel and were preparing for dinner. “Daddy - I don’t feel so good.” h more...

Soil Testing - Using Gypsum
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 more...

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 ar more...

Starting Plants from Seed
Starting seed indoors is a great way to save money when you need lots of plants for your landscape.

With a sunny windo more...

Storing Pesticides and Tools
Walter’s Garden Joke of the Day: How are my garden tools and my dirty clothes alike?

Answer: They both have compost cl more...

Tara Dillard’s Comments on Hardiness Zones
Tara Dillard’s Comments on Hardiness Zones

I've always thought the map zones were bogus for our area. Designing heavil more...

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 sou more...

Water Drops Do Not Burn Foliage
I have been asked many times if it is true that water drops on plant leaves can lead to burning of the leaf tissue in strong more...

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 subst more...

What to Expect After a Freeze
An extremely warm March in 2007 was followed by a two-day dip to 27 degrees on April 6 & 7.
more...

WHY I WEED BY HAND
(written in 1993)

Those warm days around the first of March nearly killed me! I raked leaves, mowed the lawn, dug a ca more...

Wood Chips - Myths & Facts
I believe my third grade friend Thomas Robinson told me my first urban legend. With all the solemn believability a nine-year more...

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 more...