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...
Mustard Greens
Brassica juncea This leafy relative of cabbage and collards is grown early in the season and also as a fall crop. Mustard, close in popularity to collards and turnips, is an important green vegetable in southern gardens and one of...
How to Make a PVC Plant Light Stand
My neighbor Lisa called me after reading an article I’d written about building a heating pad for plant propagation. “You are a regular garden MacGyver”, she commented. “You can always fix something with some part you find in the junk...
Walter Cowart – In His Own Words
My grandfather, Walter Cowart from Union City, GA, was a unique individual. He was a politician, promoter, story-teller and fun lover. This article from The Campbell News gives a glimpse into his life. see also Eating...
How to Write an Excuse for School
We all know about the classic excuses students offer when their homework is late: “My dog ate it.”, “My Dad spilled coffee on it.”, “A big kid on the bus stole it.” My friend Pat is a script writer. He...
How to Get the “Lawns in Georgia” publication
The University of Georgia sometimes pulls publications to update them…but they don’t give an expected date when the publication will be back in place on the Web. Just in case “Lawns in Georgia” is ever pulled, here it is. Lawns...
How to Get Free Compost
DeKalb County Public Works collects landscape debris and composts it. The compost is piled at four sites in the county. The biggest pile is near the Central Transfer Station, across the street from the county jail complex at Memorial Drive...
Newsletter – Not Receiving
It is frustrating when you suddenly realize that The Georgia Gardener e-mail newsletter has stopped appearing in your e-mail box. It’s even more frustrating when you visit the WSB Member Center and enter your information, only to be told that...
Brew Day at Nearly Native Nursery
My friend Jim Rogers, at Nearly Native Nursery in Fayetteville, has helped me identify snakes numerous times. Besides being a lover of native plants and creatures, Jim is an amateur beer brewer. Nearly Native Nursery will hold a Brew Day...
Most Distant Radio Listeners
Recently I got an intriguing email: “I’m a long time listener from Cleveland, Ga, currently assigned to camp Remagen in Tikrit, Iraq. I am very fortunate that I am able to listen to your show via internet every Saturday. The...
What is a Sercy?
When I was in college I had the privilege of working as a camp counselor at Rock Eagle 4-H Camp in Eatonton, GA. The four summers I spent there were some of the happiest of my life. We taught swimming,...
How to Find Cut Your Own Christmas Tree farms
It is a great family outing to go to a tree farm to cut your tree for Christmas. If you’re looking for a farm close by, there are four lists. One is in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution around Thanksgiving. A second...
How to Make a Garden Tuteur (Trellis)
One of my delights is finding new ways to use common materials to benefit my plants. My friend Tara Dillard taught me the word “tuteur”….a garden tower used to train vines. I decided to make one from copper pipe. It...
How to Make Muscadine Hull Pie
My mother was never one to let things go to waste. We enjoyed sucking the sweet contents of muscadine grapes each fall but we spit out the seeds and skin. This seemed a waste to my mother. Surely there was...
How To Find the Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin
The Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin is published bi-weekly by the Georgia Department of Agriculture. It contains many classified advertisements of plants for sale by small growers and gardeners. There is also a “Flowers Wanted” section. The Market Bulletin is...
How To Contact Theresa Schrum (Eco Terra Landscape Consultants)
Theresa Schrum is the owner of Eco Terra Landscape Consultants. Her garden designs feature native plants and eco-friendly garden techniques. She also specializes in: • Trouble-Shooting for Problem Areas • Plant Identification for Native and Cultivated Areas • Identification and...
Treehouse – Building
Tree-Literate Treehouses Dr. Kim D. CoderProfessor, Silvics/EcologyWarnell School of Forest ResourcesThe University of GeorgiaJanuary 1995 There is an attraction between trees and children. A tree’s constant motion even in the stillest air, and its great size and reach make a...
Walter’s Books
The Revised Georgia Gardener’s Guide by Walter Reeves and Erica Glasener Describes the culture of more than 180 plants which thrive under Georgia landscape conditions. Includes chapters on Trees, Shrubs, Annuals, Perennials, Ornamental Grasses, Groundcovers, Bulbs and Vines. Price: $25.00...
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...
