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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.

  • 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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  • Fire Blight

    Jeff Cook

    Too bad Bradford Pear are fairly resistant to fire blight. If not, we could probably get rid of them after a few wet springs.

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  • Planting Trees and Shrubs

    Jeff Cook

    If done correctly we can successfully plant trees and shrubs all year long in Georgia.  However, now is the time that most people plant trees because this is when they are available in stores.  I would warn you as I did in one of my previous articles, just because a store has a tree or…

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  • Nuisance Wildlife

    Jeff Cook

    Nuisance Wildlife Seeing all the deer on the road got me thinking about nuisance wildlife and the problems that human and or vehicle interactions with wildlife can cause.  This will be general information. If you need specifics contact your County Agent. For starters you need to understand that state and federal laws protect nearly all…

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  • Food Preservation

    Jeff Cook

    Summer is here and that means fresh vegetables.  If you are like me you probably plant more than you, your family and your neighbors can eat fresh.  So what do you do with all of the “extra” vegetables?  Food preservation is not terribly difficult and it allows you to enjoy your homegrown produce for the…

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