Recent Posts
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Forsythia are blooming beautifully around Forsyth County, and some of our early blooming trees and shrubs are budding out. In my yard, crocus and azaleas are blooming together. For many plants, however, the effects of last year’s record drought are becoming evident. Projections are that the drought will continue in March for the northern part…
Posted in: ANR -
Spinach was a “super food” long before super foods were trendy. Full of vitamins A, C and iron, the beautiful green leafy vegetable was first cultivated in Persia (modern day Iran) more than 2000 years ago. Popeye ate copious amounts that made his biceps “pop,” and children have made puckered faces for years at the…
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John Chapman, an entrepreneur from Massachusetts, developed a forward-looking business model. He took a waste product that he could get for free, cultivated it over several years into a must-have item for other independent start-ups, and strategically positioned his sales outlets along developing travel routes.
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According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, two-thirds of the state is experiencing D2 (severe) to D4 (exceptional) drought levels. The northwest counties have been in continuous severe drought for 23 weeks. In updates last week, climatologists from Alabama and Georgia indicated that we can expect drought conditions to persist for another three months.
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Although our temperatures are still warm, the hours of sunlight are noticeably fewer these days. Short day length is one factor that triggers the fall migration of birds from their northern summer nesting grounds to warmer southern regions. Many of these migrating birds pass through Georgia, either following a route along the Blue Ridge Mountain…
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Late last month, USDA’s National Veterinary Services confirmed that New World Screwworms are back in the United States. Screwworms are the larva, or maggots, of Cochliomyia hominivorax flies. While the maggots of other fly species provide an environmental cleaning service by feeding on dead and decaying animals, screwworms are unique because they eat living flesh.
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Did you know that many Americans don’t get enough potassium in their diet? Potassium helps lower your risk of heart disease and stroke. While bananas get credit for providing dietary potassium, they’re only a runner up.
Posted in: FACS -
Fall gardens offer several advantages to gardeners. First, the weather is more pleasant for outdoor activities. Second, while cool season crops aren’t pest free, most are leafy green plants that don’t require pollinator insects to produce edible food. This fact allows growers to enclose plants in low hoop houses and very effectively exclude pests.
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Tomatoes are one of the most popular foods for home canning. While we typically consider tomatoes to be acidic foods, studies have found that they have a “borderline” pH of around 4.6. So how do you safely can tomatoes? Add bottled lemon juice, vinegar or citric acid to tomatoes in amounts recommended by the USDA…
Posted in: FACS -
July began with three consecutive calls about dying oak trees. In each of the cases, evidence pointed to construction-related injuries to the trees’ root systems that had occurred about a year earlier. The injuries included severed roots, smothered roots from several inches of applied concrete or piled soil, and/ or severe compaction of soil from…
Posted in: ANR