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...
June Lawn Tips
Use a “broad-leaf weed killer” to spot spray violets, wild strawberry, mimosa weed and prostrate spurge in your lawn. Raise the height of your mower by one notch. It will help your lawn grass withstand dry weather. A sharp mower...
Lawn Care Calendars and Factsheets
Knowing that a piece of paper in your hand is much more helpful than a computer screen in the house, I have compiled basic cultivation information and care calendars for each of the common lawn grasses. You can get and...
Squash/Pumpkin/Cucumber/Watermelon Cross-Pollination – Explanation
I frequently receive from gardeners pictures of crazy-looking squash, cucumbers and gourds. Typically the plants sprouted in a compost pile, from discarded fruit of the past year. The gardeners suspect cross-pollination is to blame for the odd shapes and they...
Measuring Light and Shade in the Landscape
Q: In my work as a landscape designer, I’m challenged by the different kinds of shade on a site. Shade under a maple tree is completely different from shade on the north side of a house. But both are considered...
Rose of Sharon – Bud Drop
Q: We have a Rose of Sharon bush. Both this year and last, there have been a considerable amount of blooms on the plant that never fully open. They turn yellow and drop. A: In my experience, two things cause...
Blackeyed Pea – Sheller
Q: Where can I find a tool to zip open blackeyed peas? My Dad took us to the Farmers Market when I was a kid and we bought all kinds of vegetables to blanche and freeze. Dad had a small...
Jatropha – Identification
Q: Seven years ago my stepmother purchased a hanging basket with a variety of plants. One plant she removed and planted into a pot. It has grown into a tree with some kind of seed pods and pretty pink flowers....
Twining Snoutbean – Identification
Q: Can you identify this weed? This is in a pasture near Chatsworth, Ga. A: Sharp-eyed native plant identification expert Shannon Pable says it is twining snoutbean, also known as hairy snoutbean, Rhynchosia tomentosa. (Save these names for the next...
Blackberry – Fruit Turning White
Q: We have a thornless blackberry vine. The fruit has been ripening well up until the last day or so. Several of the drupeletes on particular fruits have all of a sudden begun to turn white. A: It’s both sunscald...
Peach – Seedling with Broken Top
Q: I’ve heard about the difficulties growing peaches but decided to try it anyway. After a long wait over the winter months I got a peach seed to germinate. It started very strong and was doing great until my three-year-old...
Squirrel – Damaging Hose and Gas Can
Q: We have one of those plastic resin hose reels at our outside spigot. The hose stays rolled up on the reel most of the year. Recently we discovered a big hole near the nozzle end of the hose (the...
Tomato – Herbicide Damage
Q: I planted tomatoes in a raised garden. I have dried grass clippings on top of the black biodegradable weed guard that covers the soil. I am using a 5 gallon bucket attached to a soaker hose for irrigation and...
Hydrangea – Virus
Q: This is the first time my hydrangea has bloomed in 5 years. Can you tell me why the blooms are short and stubby. A: Congratulations – you sent me a picture of something I’ve never seen before! I sent...
Bioassay – Testing Manure and Hay for Herbicide Contamination
How to Test for the Presence of Herbicides: Pot and Field Bioassays taken from “Herbicide Carryover in Hay, Manure, Compost,and Grass Clippings” NC State University Some laboratories can test for the presence of herbicides, but the tests are expensive and...
Watering – One Inch per Week
Q: I heard you on radio say that lawns need “one inch of water, one time a week”. Why that amount? What’s magic about one inch of water? A: You quoted me correctly. I don’t have time to give a...
Corn – Damage by Crows
Q: I’m not just frustrated about my corn, now I’m getting mad about it. I’ve always tried to plant on Good Friday. But I didn’t this year because I was in Florida at the time. I planted the following Saturday. ...
Pear – Quince Rust
Q: I’m seeing orangish colored spikes appearing on some of the fruit of my Bradford Pear trees. Is this a bad thing, and if so, what should I do about it? A: Your Bradford pear fruit is infected with cedar-quince...
Trees – No Tap Roots
Driving to dinner with friends after a big storm, I came upon this. A big tree next to a driveway fell and flipped over the car on the driveway! Notice one particular point – trees growing in our clay soils...
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...
