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...
Skunk – Odor removal
A chemist in Illinois believes he has discovered a way to obliterate one of the most noxious odors known to humans: skunk. Paul Krebaum used concentrated hydrogen peroxide to remove noxious smells from the chemical processes in his laboratory. When...
Ermine Moth Caterpillar Webs on the Web
DOUBLE YUCK!!!! When a friend sent me a link to pictures of moth caterpillar webs I could not believe my eyes. Caterpillar Infestation Ermine Moth Caterpillars in UK What insect could have made those webs that cover ALL nearby surfaces?!...
De-Icers – Damage to Plants
When ice and snow pile up it’s not unusual to reach for a deicing product to help melt the frozen stuff. Deicers work by lowering the freezing point of water, creating a brine (chemical-water solution). This allows water to evaporate,...
Large Flies – In house in Spring
Radio listeners think it is remarkable when I can answer a question with just a word or two of description of a problem. Here’s a problem I’ve wondered about for years: “What are those large flies that arrive early every...
Tools (Gifts) – Recommended by Gardeners
A couple of weeks ago I listed several garden tools to which I am particularly partial when performing garden chores. I invited readers to tell me which tools they found especially useful. Jim Wallace responded “I am encouraged on two...
Cicada – Emerging from Shell
You’ve probably seen their shells stuck to pine tree bark…..and wondered if small aliens had landed! The brown things are the exoskeletons of dog-day cicadas, also called “July flies”. They take from two to five years to complete their metamorphosis....
Tools (Gifts) – Choosing
I was out working in the garden last weekend, doing final cleanup chores for the winter. I’m a rather haphazard gardener so in the process of cleaning up I discovered several tools I’d mislaid during the summer. The wooden handle...
Fire Ant – Control Organically
Fighting fire ants is tough enough…but doing it organically is even tougher. Dr Bart Drees, at the Texas Imported Fire Ant Research center, says there is a way! He suggests modifying the “Texas Two-Step” method to use organic insecticides: Spread...
Wood Ashes – Use as Plant Fertilizer
On a cold winter weekend, nothing is cozier than a fire in the fireplace. But when the fire has died, you’re faced with the chore of cleaning out the ashes and disposing of them. Rather than putting them in the...
Cluster Fly
You’ve seen them…I’ve seen them. Big flies that appear out of nowhere inside your house. I didn’t know what they were until my friend Jim Howell wrote about them in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cluster FliesBy Jim HowellAtlanta Journal-ConstitutionPublished on: 01/14/05...
Labels – Read Before Buying
Some people collect stamps. Others accumulate coins. I collect garden product labels. I don’t actually collect the labels. Rather, I make it a habit to cruise the aisles of each garden center, nursery or home improvement store I visit, examining...
Termite – Identification
Termites and ants are similar in that both have winged “reproductives.” When you see a swarm, are they ants or termites? To tell them apart, look at their body shape. The ant will have a very distinct neck and waist....
LiquiVac Lawnmower Oil Change System
I often get products to review. Many of them are quite handy. Visit my “Cool Tools and Funky Fertilizers” page for a list. The most recent is the LiquiVac. It worked like a charm to remove the oil from two...
Termites – What to do When Found
One of my earliest childhood memories is the discovery that termites had taken up housekeeping amongst the Reeves family. When the termite man came to inspect our hallway, his inspection revealed an entire wall whose interior was the consistency of...
Foaming Root Killer
From a reader:We planted a river birch near the house four years ago in honor of my mother after she died. We couldn’t figure how it was growing so fast but we found out the hard way: a sewage back...
Fire Ant Control – Grits
There is much to be learned “over the fence” when you’re gardening. Your friends and neighbors can tell you how their plants have behaved in certain situations and you can use their experience as a guide. But some of the...
Cool Tools and Funky Fertilizers
Interesting items I’ve collected or that have been sent to me to evaluate: Tools: Handy Camel bag tote Rescue VisiLure Fly Tape Pro Plugger VegiBee Ultrasonic Pollinator Pic WTRP Yellow Jacket & Wasp Trap Bug-A-Salt SunJoe Electric Tiller...
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...
