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...
Squirrel – Control
Squirrels present us with one of the most vexing wildlife control problems. The noise they make in an attic can be unnerving – especially in the middle of the night. Perhaps you should listen to this song to make you...
Bluebird – Placing Houses
The first scouts of our bluebird population arrive in early spring. If you have a wide expanse of grassy land, free of trees, near your home, early February is the time to set up bluebird boxes for the spring. Don’t...
Deer – Control
In another article, I listed plants that are least appetizing to deer and suggested that they make good choices when living in deer country. There were dozens of plants on the list but not enough to satisfy most homeowners. I...
Deer Control – Resistant Plants
Judging from the messages I’ve received from gardeners in Big Canoe, Lake Oconee, Eagles Landing and other naturalistic residential settings, one wild creature deserves the anima non grata landscape sign: whitetail deer. When they can’t find food in the woods,...
Fire Ant Control – Comparison of Cost and Effectiveness
If your math skills are as rusty as mine, this link from Auburn compares the cost of fire ant control products for homeowners. I’ll let you discover which product costs $202 per acre and takes 3 – 4 weeks to...
Birds – Attracting
To attract birds at any time of the year, select plants that provide nectar, fruits, berries or nuts. There are many trees and shrubs that offer fruit or berries long into fall and even through winter. The small apples of...
Wildlife – Attracting
Rick Hindman recently sent me an e-mail requesting information on attracting wildlife. It gave me a great opportunity to brush up on the food needs of wild animals. In Rick’s words, “I live in Carroll county, and I want to...
Ultrasonic – Pest Repelling Devices
It seems ingrained in the genes of mankind to invent ways accomplish a useful task while expending very little physical effort. The TV remote control is the epitome of this enterprise in my home but microwave ovens, automatic ice makers...
Snake – Trapping
Rarely, snakes are seen inside a basement or garage or laundry room. How can they be trapped? The best way is to employ the large “glue boards” used to catch rats. Place them close to and at right angles to...
Snake – Control
Almost all of us have seen a snake in the out of doors. Most people have an immediate urge to kill the snake without determining if it is harmful or not. In fact, there are 50 kinds of snakes in...
Mealybug – Control
Mealybugs can attack several kinds of houseplant. Mealybugs look like small white, cottony masses usually at the joint between a leaf and a stem. The insects suck plant sap and excrete sticky honeydew, which covers nearby leaves. Jade plant, coleus,...
Cicada
When a new baby was introduced into my rural Georgia community, my mother would be one of the first visitors. “That’s such a beautiful child!” she’d coo. “It would be a shame if they didn’t have an encyclopedia for their...
Argiope – Spider ID
Remarkably large garden spiders are often seen in fall. They are black with yellow markings on their underside and their webs stretch across garden paths and between flowers. A distinctive zig-zag pattern in the middle of the web identifies this...
Aphids – Control
If you want to become an aphid expert, early summer is the best time to easily find them in your landscape. The tips of rose and crapemyrtle branches usually have dozens or hundreds of these sap-sucking insects. Many plants can...
Asian Ambrosia Beetle – Control
There is no more accurate description of Asian Ambrosia Beetle damage than “Toothpicks coming out of the trunk of my tree!” This boring pest came to my attention in 2001 when a big flowering cherry tree in my back yard...
Ant – Indoor Control
My friends Lisa and Laura are gourmet cooks. Their kitchens always contain the beginnings of (or the remains of) a feast for their families. No one who walks through ever lacks for a snack. It’s no wonder then that both...
Bat – Control
The old-time farmers who sat on the rickety straw-bottomed chairs in front of Paul Lamb’s General Store called it “gu-ann-er”. Bill McLucas, Donald Harp and Jim Minter discussed proper application rates, compared prices and bragged on how this remarkable substance...
UGA Wildlife Publications
These publications are available from The University of Georgia. Attracting Doves Attracting Ducks Chipmunk Control Copperhead Snakes Baits for Trapping Armadillos Mole Control Planting for Wildlife Snake Control Using Milorganite to Repel Deer from Ornamental Plantings Using Milorganite to Repel...
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...
