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News from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

As part of UGA Extension's Pollinator Census Project, school and community gardeners planted "Snow Flurry" asters — a native ground cover — to attract pollinators. They will keep track of how many visitors the plants attract. CAES News
Pollinator Census
Georgia students and teachers at 50 school and community gardens across the state will launch the inaugural Pollinator Census Project this August. The data will shed light on pollinator populations in Georgia and how well the native ground cover — the ‘Snow Flurry’ aster — can support them.
There are two basic types of aerification, hollow and solid tine. With hollow tine a soil core is removed, while with solid tine aerification a hole is created and no core is removed. With both types, a void in the soil is created that allows air and water to more deeply penetrate the root zone. The aeration benefits are longer lasting with hollow tine (pictured) due to the removal of the core. CAES News
Room to Grow
Last year many lawns across the state didn’t receive enough rainfall for the grass to grow, photosynthesize and make carbohydrate reserves. Turfgrass that experienced this lack of rainfall will likely be slow to green up this spring. If rainfall totals return to normal this spring, lawns will recover, but they may do so at a slower rate because the production of reserves was compromised last fall. For example, a lawn that would typically be fully green and growing in mid-May might take until late May or June to green up. A two- to four-week delay in green-up of warm-season grasses may be common this spring.
Rosemary makes a terrific center or tall plant in mixed containers. The aromatic foliage does not go unnoticed. The green, fine-textured, needle-like leaves contrast with cool- or warm-season flowers like these violas. CAES News
Mother's Day Flowers
Every year, Americans spend about $2 billion on fresh flowers for Mother’s Day. While fresh flowers are gorgeous, they have a short shelf life. This year, why not skip the bouquet and make Mom a living collection of flowers and plants that may last for years?
Earthworms in a healthy compost bin in middle Georgia. CAES News
Compost Critters
Gardeners are likely to see a whole community of living things in their compost piles — from millipedes and roaches to worms and small mammals. While most of this activity is natural and great for compost, some uninvited guests can indicate a problem with the compost pile.
Don't let fire ants ruin your afternoons. CAES News
Fire Ant Treatments
Nothing ruins a good cookout or run through the sprinklers like a mound of fire ants. With warmer weather around the corner, early spring is the time to tackle fire ant problems before they spoil summer fun.
The garden at the Scott Site at Rock Eagle 4-H Center produces between 500 and 2,000 pounds. This garden staff is hoping to collect heirloom seeds from middle Georgia gardeners to make next year's crop more-resilient and historically accurate. CAES News
Local Veggies
Nothing could be more local –or make you more of a locavore – than eating locally grown produce that comes from your own garden plot. You may be thinking that you don’t have room for a garden, but I assure you that the vegetable garden has become “sweet ‘n’ neat” over the past few years for a couple of reasons.
University of Georgia horticulture professor Donglin Zhang worked with a team of American and Chinese scientists in fall 2016 to help identify tea varieties that might work well in the American South. Zhang and his colleagues visited tea fields in China as part of a research trip sponsored by the USDA and the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture. CAES News
Hometown Tea
Sweet tea may be the “house wine” of the American South, but very, very few of the tea leaves used in the thousands of gallons of tea Southerners drink every year is grown nearby.
UGA organic horticulture expert Julia Gaskin is shown teaching participants about soil composition at the 2011 Georgia Organics Conference. Gaskin will help lead a presentation during the 2019 Georgia Organics Conference in Tifton, Georgia on Feb. 8-9. CAES News
Organics Conference
More than 1,000 farmers, gardeners, health advocates and organic food lovers are expected to attend the 2017 Georgia Organics Conference and Expo. This year’s schedule includes farm tours, 10 in-depth workshops, 32 educational sessions, three daylong intensive workshops, two keynote addresses, one-on-one consulting sessions and a trade show. Registration ends on Monday, Feb. 6, for this year’s conference. The two-day annual event, one of the largest sustainable agriculture expos in the South, is set for Feb. 17-18 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta.
Homegrown tomatoes are one of the most popular fruits available at roadside produce stands. CAES News
Vegetable Workshop
A workshop for small-scale vegetable farmers is set for Tuesday, Feb. 28, on the University of Georgia campus in Griffin, Georgia. The workshop is designed for seasoned growers who want to enhance their operation and for small-acreage farmers interested in marketing vegetables. Homeowners who face challenges growing vegetables are also welcome to attend.
Deer are beautiful creatures, but seeing them dining on your landscape plants quickly makes their beauty fade. CAES News
Plant Destroyers
As counties across Georgia continue to develop, wildlife habitats are disturbed and destroyed. This drives deer, and other wildlife, into home landscapes, where they feast on plants. Deterring them can be a challenge.