UGA Vegetable Gardening Publications
With food prices high, folks have been thinking about growing some of their own food. Food gardening is not hard and it doesn’t have to take much room in your landscape. You can even do it in containers! These gardening publications are available on the Internet or ask for a...
Shrub – Transplanting 1-2-3
Most shrubs and trees should be transplanted when the demand for water is least, in late fall or winter. Since many roots will inevitably be lost, they need many weeks to regenerate themselves before the hot, dry blasts of summer arrive. If you are contemplating moving a plant that would...
Shrub – Pruning Calendar
The Home & Garden section of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution published a very nice pruning calendar several years ago. When viewed on a sheet of newsprint, it was gorgeous. When reduced to fit onto a sheet of typing paper it was impossible to read. I imagine you didn’t keep...
South Africa Adventure – 2014
As many of you know, I led a group of gardeners and spouses to South Africa in 2010. The memories of that vibrant, beautiful, surprising country still linger in my brain! We had such a good time I’ve decided to lead another group trip there in January, 2014. Want to...
New Gardening Books
I regularly receive interesting-looking gardening books from publishers. I don’t have time to read them all or give an intelligent review but I know they would appeal to many gardeners. These are some of the books I’ve gotten recently. You can click the link under the book cover images to...
Dog Urine – Control Smell
Q: I have a dog run area adjacent to my back patio. It is covered with cypress mulch. The mulch is absorbing urine and this time of year the mulch is not drying out. Do you have any suggestions for...
Soil- Solarization
Q: I want to sterilize a 100′ x 50′ soil area to plant wildflowers. The spot is now covered with coastal bermudagrass. I’d like to use a plastic covering on the ground to kill unwanted plants.Will this sterilize the soil?...
Wet Soil- Recommended Plants and Ground Cover
Q: We have a water detention facility running through our backyard. A lot of our yard is unusable due to soggy soil. Can you suggest a ground cover that we could use to soak up water enough to walk and...
Open Meadow- Creating
Q: I have several acres of fallow farm land that I am trying to keep as an open meadow. It is a constant battle to keep the sweetgum trees out. We have mowed them down twice a year for several...
Plumbago – Hardiness
Q: I planted several blue plumbago plants last spring. Their blue and white flowers were outstanding all spring and summer until the first frost. Will they make it through the winter? A: Plumbago is also known as leadwort. However, confusingly,...
European Hornet- Damage to Plant
Q: I have a row of ten foot tall ‘Nellie Stevens’ hollies. Last summer I noticed severe yellowing of the leaves on two of them. Recently I crawled under these large shrubs and discovered on the trunks concentric rings where...
Shrubs – Replanting
Q: We are about to embark on a basement project which will require a good deal of regrading in our back yard. We have a twelve foot tall osmanthus, three very large azaleas and nine well-established roses, plus some hostas,...
Yellowjackets – Nest Dug Up
Q: We have noticed some bees in a corner of our property. After a recent rain, it looked as if an animal dug up several flat bee combs. There were four of them, about the size of a six-inch pancake,...
Limb – Repairing Broken
Q: I need help. A big pecan limb split away from a similar-sized limb way up in the tree. Do you think I should cut off the whole limb to which both are attached? A: Someone brave is going to...
Crape Myrtle – Straightening
Q: I need some advice on what to do about a crepe myrtle that was partially uprooted by recent winds. It is leaning about 30 degrees and is about 20 feet tall. My plan is to dig under where it...
Fungus on Tree Root
Q: I have had a lot of erosion in my back yard so there are a lot of exposed roots. I’ve seen a couple of them that have this hard, white crust on them, sort of like a rubber coating....
Rat and Mouse – Control
Q: Do you know of any Internet sites that discuss control of rodents? A: The key to controlling outdoor rodents like rats, squirrels and chipmunks is to understand carrying capacity and seasonality. Every landscape has the capacity to support a...
Rat and Mouse – Poisons
Q: Is there a rat poison that keeps the dead rodent from smelling? I was told that one formula contains formaldehyde, which preserves the body. A: It is a false conception that rat poisons dry out the animal. Several of...
Rat and Mouse – Identification
Q: We found the droppings of an animal in our kitchen. My husband thinks it is a mouse, I think it is a rat. Is it possible to tell the difference? A: It may be distasteful, but it is possible...
Bamboo – Fiberglass Barrier
Q: My neighbor and I are trying to control the bamboo he planted along his property line. The patch was planted three years ago. Today I was out cleaning up my landscape and found runners about one-half inch in diameter...
Tomato – Roots on Stem
Q: This year I decided to try my luck at growing a few tomato plants. They are in containers and have done quite well since Easter. However, now the lower leaves are turning yellow and on one of them strange...
Flying Squirrel – In Birdhouse
Q: This weekend while cleaning up my backyard I encountered an unexpected resident in our bluebird house. I cannot see the tail or markings. I look forward to your reply. A: You have a flying squirrel! They commonly make their...
Jack (Sword) Bean
Q: A friend got some bean seed from his Dad, who told him to plant them and they would do great. I think the word “great” is an understatement. The Dad said they are called “Fala beans”. I’m thinking he...
Weeds – Identification with Pictures
Weed control in the landscape is a tough business. You have to know a lot about the weed in question just to get started! As in most situations, a picture is worth a thousand words. Websites Preen has terrific weed...
Diagnosing Holes in the Yard
Sometimes many heads are better than one when it comes to solving a problem. Wade Hutcheson, my Extension colleague in Spalding county, gets plenty of calls from the citizens of his area asking his help in identifying various holes in...
Brown Patch – Diagnosing
You have brown patches of dead grass in your lawn. Is it the common lawn disease ‘brown patch’ or is it something else? The answer is important: if it is brown patch you probably need to spray with a fungicide....
Bermuda – Weed Control
BASIC INFORMATION: Weed Identification Pictures General Turf and Weed Info Lawn Care Calendars THREE METHODS There are three primary methods of controlling weeds. Any one method, when used alone, will not usually control all of your weeds. To consistently control...
Lawn – Timing Pre-emergent Herbicide
One of the sourest phrases that can be directed at a child or adult is “I told you so!” Whether you touch a hot match, leave tools out in the rain or lift cinder blocks all afternoon, someone is usually...
Crapemyrtle – Pruning
One of the most confounding arguments I face is whether and how to prune crapemyrtles. They are mercilessly “murdered” by unaware landscapers and homeowners each winter… yet they still bloom in summer. Some people even believe a crapemyrtle won’t bloom...
Lawn – Growing in Shade
OK. I admit it. I have given up. I came to the conclusion that grass just would not grow in the corner of my lawn near the ornamental cherry trees. The shade there is so dense that my grass, no...
Lawn – Leveling
A new home in my neighborhood had bermudagrass sod planted in March. By May, one area was a perfect checkerboard of straight lines, composed of weedy plants, surrounding the individual squares of sod. Evidently the sod installers were in such...
Bermuda Grass – Disease – Brown Patch
Brown patch is most prevalent on bermudagrass which has been heavily fertilized when night temperatures are above 68 degrees and day temperature are above 80 degrees. Dead patches of grass may start small but can grow and join together to...
St. Augustine Grass Seed – Where to Buy
Q: Please tell me where I can buy St. Augustine grass seeds. Our lawn has some now and we like it a lot, but we’re having trouble finding seeds. A: You can’t buy St. Augustinegrass seed. The plant is very...
