Recent Posts
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Ginseng is a plant that has long had an important place in Appalachia. It is important economically and culturally. Unfortunately, there is less and less ginseng growing in the wild. Let’s talk about ginseng, some of its history, and how to start your own ginseng patch. The market for American ginseng started in the 1700’s.…
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What do they look like? Periodical cicadas have red eyes and orange wings. They grow to be 2.5 inches long. They have a piercing sucking mouth that they use to suck juices out of plants. Annual cicadas appear every year and have black eyes with green wings. The emergence this year is from Brood X…
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Cedar-apple rust is a common disease in our area. If you have apple trees you have probably seen it before. It is an unusual disease in that it alternates between hosts. Let’s talk about this disease so that you can learn how to identify and control it. Cedar-apple rust (CAR) is from the Pucciniaceae family.…
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This week is Georgia Ag Week. In the spirit of Georgia Ag Week, I wanted to write about the importance of agriculture in Towns and Union Counties. Agriculture is the number one industry in Georgia, and has importance in many different aspects of our lives. So let’s take a little time to talk about the…
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I’m sure that by now a lot of people have heard about the cicadas that are due to emerge this year. Because this will be a once 17 years type of event, I wanted to talk about it. Let’s talk about what they look like, what they eat, and any other facts you might need…
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Last week I talked about the different materials that can be used to construct a raised bed. This week I want to talk about what we put in the raised beds. There are many different options out there, some are better than others are, and some are cheaper than others are. So let’s talk through…
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This week I would like to talk about raised beds. There are many different ways to make raised beds. So I’ll go through different types of materials that you can use and some basic principles to use when building your raised beds. I’ll also talk about situations where I like raised beds over growing in…
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When to plant? That is a big question. We are still a ways off from warmer weather. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t start thinking about the garden. Winter is a great time to go ahead and start planning your garden and picking up seeds. Let’s talk a bit about planting calendars and when…
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Blueberries grow pretty well in Georgia. Rabbiteye blueberries are native to the southeast, so they’re well adapted to our climate. Let’s talk specifically about pruning blueberries. Blueberries don’t need to be pruned every year to be fruitful. However, if you start doing some cane renewal pruning every year on a mature plant the bushes will…
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Deep winter is prime apple tree pruning time. Pruning apple trees is important early in the tree’s life so that it gets started off right. Later on, if you properly prune the tree each year the tree will be more productive, more disease resistant, and have a longer life. Keeping all these things in mind,…
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