Italy Trip Report – 2013
In May of 2013 I led a group of adventurous and inquisitive gardeners (and their spouses) to the southern coast of Italy and the island of Sicily. We had a wonderful time: lots of great food, beautiful gardens, historic sites and good companionship! Following is my report on the trip,...
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 – 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...
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...
Flea Beetle – Control
Q: What could cause all these holes in my eggplant leaves? A: It’s flea beetle damage. They attack radish and mustard leaves too but eggplant seems to be their favorite food in my garden. You can use organic controls like...
Rain Barrel – Using Water in a Vegetable Garden
Few things are cleaner than rain water, right? Well, in its pure state, rain water is clean. But coming off your roof into your rain barrel, it collects several pollutants that could be harmful. Water in your rain barrel might...
Lawn – Carbon Sequestration
One of the big areas of study right now is how we can decrease the amount of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere. One of the strategies is to increase the amount of carbon held (sequestered) in the soil. You...
Copperhead Snake – Identification
Q: Can you help us identify this snake that showed up in our driveway? What should we do next? A: Snake expert Jim Rodgers at Nearly Native Nursery says: “These are some of the best pix of a snake I...
Join Walter on Facebook
See that little blue Facebook icon over to the right? If you click on it you will be taken to the Facebook homepage. I’ve found Facebook to be a great way to send you quick garden tips during the week....
Knock Out Rose – Pruning in Summer
Q: I have read your recommendation of ‘Knock Out’ rose but didn’t find anything on the proper way to deadhead them. How do you do it? A: ‘Knock Out’ rose is a plant I can wholeheartedly recommend to any gardener....
Oak – Losing Bark
Q: In the last few weeks, we have noticed that oak trees are shedding their bark profusely. The bark is simply falling off the trees in bits and pieces. What is happening to our wonderful trees? A: There are two...
Lawn – Watering Correctly
Your goal is for the lawn to receive enough water to keep the soil slightly moist in the upper six inches of soil. Lawns do best when they are soaked once per week and then allowed to dry between waterings....
Beech Tree Borer – Identification
Q: I have never seen this type of frass from a borer’s entrance hole. They have hit every beech on my property that is over 5″ caliper. They make a vertical slit in the trunk, close to an inch in...
Tomato – Misshapen Bloom (Fused Flower, Megabloom)
Q: These are on a tomato plant grown by my neighbor from purchased seed. What would you say we have? A: A bit of Google work and it’s all there. The phenomenon is called fused blossoms (or megabloom) and it...
Kousa Dogwood – Identification
Q: What are the trees that have white blooms that look like dogwood flowers in May? A: Very likely you are seeing kousa dogwoods, Cornus kousa. These Asian dogwoods are very similar to our familiar spring dogwoods but they bloom...
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...
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...
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...
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...
