rlstew2
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What is the difference between lawn and turf? A lawn, by definition, is an area of short, mown grass in a yard, garden, or park. Turf refers to grass and the layer of soil held together by its roots. If you speak to a horticulturist, they will use the term “turf” or “turfgrass” instead of…
Posted in: Horticulture -
Do you know one of the biggest pet peeves of most agricultural agents I know? Watching irrigation systems run while it’s actively raining outside. Only 0.3% of water on Earth is suitable for human use, and the U.S. uses over 407 million gallons of water per day. In Georgia, residents use an estimated 51-75 gallons…
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It’s June, and I’m getting an influx of calls related to plant identification, diseases, and insects. If you have a garden, you’re probably familiar with the Japanese beetle, which can cause significant damage to a wide variety of plants. This week, lets talk about these insects and what you can do about them. As…
Posted in: Insects and Pests -
If you’re having trouble growing fruit in our area, did you know that the Extension office can help identify what’s going on? I’ve had several samples brought to me in the last few weeks off of plum, pear, and peach trees. Unfortunately, every single one of them has had the same problem – insect damage…
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When my parents moved houses last year, their new residence had a number of hydrangeas established in the landscape. They aren’t my mom’s preferred plant, so this spring they dug them out and gave them to me. I was concerned that they were going to struggle with transplant stress and erratic watering due to my…
Posted in: Garden -
In the last two weeks, I’ve had multiple phone calls, emails, and site visits relating to trees and shrubs that aren’t looking so good. These types of calls are common during this time of year – now that plants are starting to green up, grow leaves, and set fruit, any problems or trouble they might…
Posted in: Garden -
Hopefully you were able to take a look at last week’s article discussing what to do if you are seeing plant dieback in your trees and shrubs. If not, the short version is: we have to identify what the cause of the trouble is before we can find a solution, so call (706-359-3233) my office…
Posted in: Garden -
A few weeks ago I was able to visit with a colleague of mine down in south Georgia whose county produces over $12 million dollars in watermelons each year – roughly $6k per acre in profit. While I don’t necessarily recommend that you try to grow watermelons at quite that big of a scale, they…
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For the last thirteen years, Brood XIX, or the Great Southern Brood of periodical cicadas have been living underground as nymphs, feeding on hardwood plant roots. If a mature tree wasn’t present 13 years ago, if the tree was cut down since that time period, or if the tree is not a hardwood species, cicadas…
Posted in: Insects and Pests -
I recently had a call from a gentleman who had cleared some property around a house and was looking for a good ground cover to hold the soil and look nice as he prepared to sell it. While I’ve written fairly frequently about the benefits of cool-season annual grass species such as annual ryegrass for…