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Gardening is a healthy hobby. It gets us outside where, in addition to getting physical exercise, we can soak up the mental and physiological benefits of nature. Food gardeners also reap the nutritional benefits of just-picked produce and the satisfaction of self-sufficiency. We need to remember, however, that all-natural isn’t necessarily harmless.
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Throughout the year, Forsyth County Extension gets calls from people with questions about maintaining healthy lawns. While we’re happy to answer those questions, it’s also important to talk about how to stay healthy while maintaining that lawn. Power equipment helps us complete lawn care tasks in less time and with less labor. Unfortunately, this convenience…
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If your drinking water comes from a private well, UGA and CDC recommend annual testing to assure quality and safety. The recommended tests for wells throughout the state are the basic test (W-1) to determine pH and levels of dissolved minerals, a test for bacterial contamination (W-35), a test for total nitrates and nitrites (W-32),…
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At the Extension Office, we’ve lately been receiving calls and emails from people with questions about applying pre-emergent herbicides to their lawns. What kind of pre-emergent herbicide should I use? Should I apply it now? What about fertilizer? As always when dealing with ecosystem matters, the answer is, “It depends.” Things to consider include the…
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While wildlife cope with the limited food resources of winter by hibernating or migrating, those options aren’t available for domesticated livestock such as horses and cattle. These animals rely on humans to provide them with feed throughout the year.
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Winter officially started with the winter solstice in late December, but the lead-up to the season arguably begins in June. That’s when the summer solstice marks the day of the year with the longest span of daylight. After the summer solstice, the time between sunrise and sunset gets a little shorter each day, until we…
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or many holidays and family celebrations, food is a central feature. What would an Independence Day picnic be without watermelon? Can you host a tail-gate or game-day party without chicken wings, hamburgers, or bar-b-que? In my family, dinner get-togethers aren’t complete without an apple, peach, blueberry, or pumpkin pie, depending on the season. And my…
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In the past few weeks, the southeastern corner of our nation has suffered from two major hurricanes. Through news reporting, we watched Hurricane Florence approach the Carolinas for what seemed like a week. Clean-up from that September storm was still underway when Michael slammed into the Florida panhandle as a category 4 hurricane, then roared…
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Several species of snakes hatch or are born in the late summer and early fall, and we’ve received numerous calls and emails requesting snake identification. Most Georgia snakes are non-venomous, beneficial, and protected by law. The exceptions for our area are copperheads, timber rattlers (also called canebrake rattlers), and pygmy rattlers.
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One of the first harbingers of fall, a flight of migrating geese, passed the Extension office last week. Fall is my favorite season. It’s the time for flannel shirts, pumpkin pie, and preparing your landscape for a beautiful and bountiful spring show. Although spring stimulates many gardeners to get outside and plant things, fall is…
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