Pear Preserves Recipe: UGA's 'So Easy To Preserve'

My mothers pear preserves recipe came from the UGA Extension, modified with a lemon slice per jar. For safe, tested recipes, get the So Easy To Preserve book and DVD from UGA (setp.uga.edu). It has 185 tested recipes wit

Nutsedge Eradication: The Water Weeder Tool

Nutsedge spreads by underground tubers (nuts). Pulling leaves tubers behind to resprout. The Water Weeder (Lee Valley Tools) uses a high-pressure water jet to liquefy soil around the plant, letting you extract the whole

Wildflower Planting Over a Septic Field: Fall is Best

You can spray glyphosate now to clear the area, but dont wait until spring to seed. Wildflowers need fall planting so winter cold stratifies the seed for spring bloom. Prepare the bed this fall, sow seed, and let nature

Weed Control Between Zoysia Plugs: Paint-On Glyphosate

Weeds between new zoysia plugs must be removed by hand or spot-treated. If plugs are on a grid, use a foam brush to paint glyphosate (Roundup, Killzall) directly on weed leaves. This kills weeds without harming the surro

Savannah Holly Berries Won't Grow: Hybrid Sterility

Savannah holly (Ilex x attenuata Savannah) is a hybrid of American holly and dahoon holly. Most hybrids are sterile—their seeds dont germinate. Thats why your collected berries havent sprouted after three weeks. Propagat

Yellow Jacket Nest in Nandina: Wait for Winter

Yellow jacket colonies die out completely in winter. Only mated queens survive, hibernating under leaves or logs. They start new nests in spring. If the nest is in a nandina, just wait for hard frost. The problem solves

Tall, Spindly Tomatoes: Too Much Nitrogen

Tomatoes over 8 feet tall with thin stalks and few fruits are classic symptoms of excess nitrogen. The plant puts energy into leaves and stems instead of flowers and fruit. Cut back on fertilizer, especially high-nitroge

Mexican Petunia: Invasive Risk and Dwarf Alternatives

Tall Mexican petunia (Ruellia brittoniana) spreads aggressively by seed and runners, shading out neighbors. Florida lists it as invasive. Dwarf cultivars Katie, Chi Chi, and Bonita offer non-stop flowers with much less s

Winterizer Fertilizer for Bermuda: What Analysis to Buy

For September application on bermuda, look for high potassium, low nitrogen analyses like 35-0-5, 20-7-5, 24-0-11, or 18-24-12. Avoid winterizer with weed control unless you have a weed problem. Follow label rates. Apply

Spiders: Garden Allies Worth Keeping

Spiders dont harm plants; they devour leaf miners, beetles, moths, and mosquitoes. If webs annoy you, hold a couple of twiggy branches ahead of your face on your first garden walk each day.

Propagating Deciduous Hollies: Seed vs. Air Layering

Growing deciduous hollies from seed is slow: stratify cleaned seeds 12 months, then sow in shade; seedlings take 5 years to reveal sex (only females berry). Faster and certain: air-layer small limbs next summer for ident

Preventing Tomato Cracking with Consistent Watering

Cracked cherry tomatoes result from dry spells followed by heavy rain or irrigation—the skin hardens, then cant expand fast enough. Maintain evenly moist soil throughout summer to prevent cracking.

Why Muscadines Fail to Fruit and How to Fix It

Muscadines need a perfect-flowered (self-fertile) vine for pollination. If yours have only imperfect flowers, they wont set fruit alone. Plant a pollenizer like Carlos, Fry, Nesbitt, or Triumph nearby. Growing guide at x

Nectarine Fruit Ooze: Causes and Spray Schedule

Gooey gel on nectarines signals plum curculio, stinkbug damage, or brown rot. Nectarines (fuzzless peaches) demand a regular fungicide/insecticide spray program for success. Details and a home orchard guide at xrl.us/cur

Carolina Jasmine: Fragrant Vine for Arbors

Carolina jasmine is an excellent arbor vine—its May fragrance is intoxicating. It requires only occasional trimming to keep it tight to the structure and is otherwise carefree.

Rose Rosette Disease: Should You Plant More Knock Outs?

If existing Knock Out roses look healthy, theres no need to avoid adding more. Rose rosette virus spreads via mites, not soil or water. Without infected plants nearby, new roses will thrive. Inspect new purchases for exc

Containing Pine Beetle Infestations in Cut Logs

If a neighbors beetle-infested pine logs arent removed, have them fully covered with a plastic tarp, edges sealed with soil, for 30 days. Solar heat under the tarp kills most beetles and eggs. Details on detection and co

Privacy Shrubs Under 15 Feet for Utility Easements

For a Georgia Power easement needing a screen under 15 feet, Emerald Green arborvitae and Nellie Stevens holly are top picks. The holly may exceed 15 feet but responds well to occasional pruning. More screening options f

Hardy Hibiscus: Winter Survival and Planting Time

Dinner-plate hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) is fully hardy, dying back to the ground each winter and regrowing into a large shrub by summer. Its massive blooms appear in white, red, and pink blends. Reliable cultivars in

Low-Maintenance Groundcovers for Shady Yards

Tired of fighting fescue in bright shade? Embrace a weed lawn with plants that naturally form a dense, low carpet. Mondo grass sprigs (often free from dividing neighbors) create a grassy, evergreen mat. For variety, add