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Middle Georgia Gardener

Timely Tips for Middle Georgia Gardeners

Jeff Cook

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Jeff Cook

County Agriculture Agent in Taylor & Peach Counties, and Area Peach Agent. B.S. Plant Pathology, UGA. Master of Plant Protection and Pest Management, UGA.

  • Urban Ag Council 2026 Green-Up!

    Jeff Cook

    This is an educational event targeted toward landscape professionals and those in the green industry. Green-up will be March 6th from 8AM to 2PM at the Houston County Extension office, 2030 Kings Chapel Road, Perry, GA.

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  • February Landscape Chores

    Jeff Cook

    Here is a small list of things that you can be doing in the landscape and garden to make 2026 a successful and productive growing season. 

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  • Winter Annual Weed Control

    Jeff Cook

    I am writing about winter annual weed control again.  However, if it doesn’t rain soon, we may not have to worry about any winter annuals germinating this fall.  Winter annual weeds are weeds that germinate in the fall and complete their lifecycle in the spring.  The completion is the formation of yellow and purple flowers…

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  • Growing Good Tomatoes

    Jeff Cook

    Hopefully if you are starting from seed you already planted them in a sunny indoor location.  You will need anywhere from 4-6 weeks to have transplants that can be moved outside to the garden.  Be sure to harden off indoor grown transplants by gradually introducing them to more and more sunlight each day.  Tomatoes can…

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  • Using Prowl H2O for Forage Grass Weed Control 

    Jeff Cook

    We now have more flexibility with Prowl H2O, an herbicide previously approved only for dormant bermudagrass. It is now labeled for use on cool-season forage grasses, with or without alfalfa (but not clovers), and on warm-season grasses. However, grasses must be well-established with at least six tillers before application.  Prowl H2O can be used for…

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  • Critical Temperatures for Fruit Trees

    Jeff Cook

    With yet another arctic blast that just came through, I thought it would be good to talk about critical temperatures for fruit buds and flowers.  Coming off of unseasonably warm early February temperatures, this could be very important to this year’s fruit crop. Most of our fruiting plants and trees require a certain amount of…

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  • Spring Potato Planting

    Jeff Cook

    As we approach the planting season, it is the perfect time to start getting your garden ready for potatoes. This is the time of year when most home gardeners begin planting Irish potatoes. Potatoes can sprout at soil temperatures of around 45°F, but they grow best at 50°F. If you are in this part of…

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  • Pollination Problems

    Jeff Cook

    Well summer officially starts on the 20th of this month, but it already feels like the middle of August.  We had several days in the 90’s last week and it looks like we will remain in the upper 80’s to 90’s for a while.  Couple this with a severe lack of rain and you have…

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  • Blossom End Rot

    Jeff Cook

    We shouldn’t be too far away from harvesting tomatoes and peppers.  Which means we are not too far away from County Agents getting calls about blossom end rot.  Blossom end rot (BER) is a condition that can happen with most of the things that we grow in our garden but is most often a problem…

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  • What’s Happening in Your Yard

    Jeff Cook

    Other than the extremely loud bunch of cicadas that have taken over our state what else is going on in the middle Georgia area? You can read Nancy Hinkle’s article that was written in 2011, when these cicadas were being made, Here. Winter annual weeds are doing what they do best, annoying homeowners.  At least…

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