Storing Pesticides and Tools

Walter's Garden Joke of the Day: How are my garden tools and my dirty clothes alike? Answer: They both have compost clinging to them and both never seem to make it to their proper storage site. Last year I

Holiday Gifts

My family has a terrible time giving me gifts. I have a mental condition called "See – Want – Buy" which strikes me every time I go into a garden center or hardware store. So I give myself

Lime – Different kinds

Quicklime (calcium oxide) is a white solid having a crystalline structure. Quicklime is highly reactive with water, generating considerable heat in the hydration process. It can be bought at masonry supply stores

Drought – Summary of Current Information

Currently there is no central website to address water restrictions and drought-coping information for Georgia. This is my attempt to rectify that. Current Georgia Watering Restrictions Georgia Drought Map Wateri

Mysterious Clay Particles

This garden mystery started innocently enough. In July, I got an email from M. D. in Hall county: "We are totally stumped by something that's happening at our house and hope you can help us understand

Horse Manure – In Dekalb County

Free Horse Manure! Little Creek Farm is a horse park off of Lawrenceville Highway which is owned by DeKalb county government as part of their GreenSpace initiative. With horses comes plenty of manure! The conserv

Best Management Practices to Protect Water

Georgia will have to make some hard choices about water management in the next several years. We have plenty of water – it's just the location and distribution that gives fits to water planners and wa

Mysterious Clay Particles – Reader Theories

Reader theories on the origin of clay particles from the sky. Scroll to the bottom to find an answer.—————– Dirt rain. Gotta be. Amelia P.————–

Mysterious Clay Particles Conclusion

I LOVE IT when science and personal observation prevail! Initially I theorized that cicada killer wasps were dropping the mysterious dirt balls. They certainly excavate holes in the ground in July! But when I pre

Rat – Chewing Tree Bark

Paul H. solved his own tree mystery. I'll allow his words to tell the tale: "In August I sent you an e-mail concerning a problem I was experiencing with my Yoshino cherry trees. As I explained, the ba

Mulch Myths

One day he'll finally crack. My across-the-street neighbor, Carl, has a roof covered with pine needles. I need pine needles right now to mulch my newly-planted shrubs, trees and pansies. My hope is that Car

Drought – A Brief History in Georgia

Each year that Georgia suffers through a dry summer, we proclaim that it is an unusual occurrence…a "Drought of the Century"! Would you believe that we've had five "Droughts of the C

Mulch – More Myths

It is hard to mess up making macaroni and cheese from a box, but somehow I did it. During a recent kitchen foray, I mixed in a handful of my son's other favorite food, bacon. This immediately rendered the

Why I Weed By Hand

(written in 1993) Those warm days around the first of March nearly killed me! I raked leaves, mowed the lawn, dug a carrot bed, pruned figs, sprayed weed killer, spread fertilizer and planted raspberries –

CD’s Yield 3.5% – Plants Yield 400%

My mother explained it to me carefully: I should give her my newly earned $5.00 and we would open a savings account for me. In nine years (double my age at that time!) it would "grow" and I could use

Extension Offices – Odd Questions

University of Georgia Extension offices are sometimes the place of last resort for people with odd questions. Extension agents and their assistants sometimes, however, get questions just a bit beyond the pale. Aa

Jewels of Opar – Identification

Q: Can you identify this plant? A: Garden coach Daryl Pulis says Jewels of Opar: Talinum paniculatum. Generally considered a nasty weed unfortunately sold as an ornamental. Jewels of Opar

Crabapples – Resistant to Fireblight

Q: Our favorite crab apple tree has finally succumbed to fireblight. We will be cutting it down and looking to replace it with another tree. Due to the difficulty of getting rid of the blight, is it safe to repla

Plants for Shade

These plants tolerate some amount of shade but a host of other factors (soil type, exposure, soil moisture, etc) determine long term success. Do research before you plant. Shrubs: azalea, aucuba, mahonia, Japanes

Garden Coach – Finding

Sometimes you just want someone to come over and suggest ways you could be a better gardener. You want someone to identify plants and give you ideas on other plants you could use. That person is called a garden c