Video Segments
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Square Foot Gardening Basics
Gardening Expert Tonya Ashworth talks about the basics of square foot gardening. Square foot gardens are grown in raised beds, usually four feet square. The bed is then divided into square foot sections. There are several advantages to a square foot garden. They are small in size, you don’t need large garden equipment like a rototiller, there are almost no weeds, and they can grow many plants in the small space. In each square foot of garden you can grow sixteen carrots; a tomato, pepper or eggplant; four bush beans; or nine sweet peas.
May 26, 2018 Related Resources: Square Foot Gardening for Beginners The Facts of Square Foot Gardening Create a Square-Foot, High-Yield Vegetable Garden |
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Treating Crape Myrtle Bark Scale
UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper and Mike Dennison show how to use a soil drench to treat Crape Myrtle Bark Scale. The plant they are treating is covered with the scale. First, they discuss the history of the crape myrtle bark scale in the United States. They are using the systemic insecticide imidacloprid. They measure the circumference of each stem at the four-foot height and after doing some math they mix the imidacloprid concentrate in a gallon of water and pour it on the ground around the crape myrtle. It may take several months for the imidacloprid to start killing the scale, but it will be effective for about one year after application.
May 26, 2018 Related Resources: Crape Myrtle Bark Scale Identification and Control Crape Myrtle Bark Scale: A New Exotic Pest Crapemyrtle Bark Scale |
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Making Low-Sugar Strawberry Freezer Jam
UT Extension Agent Cathy Faust shows how to make a low sugar strawberry freezer jam. After removing the stems and mashing the berries with a potato masher she puts them in a pot, adds low-sugar pectin, and brings them to a boil. After one minute at a boil Cathy adds the sugar – less than usual – and a small amount of butter to reduce foaming. Then she boils the mixture for another minute. After that, she puts some of the jam into pre-heated jars. She also uses some as cake topping. While she makes the jam she talks about other recipes she has tried and how they came out.
May 19, 2018 Related Resources: Let's Preserve: Jelly, Jam, Spreads Preserving Uncooked Jams and Jellies 
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Wildlife Friendly Gardens
Garden Expert Tonya Ashworth talks about things you can do to encourage wildlife to visit your garden. Wildlife will come to your garden when there is food, water, and shelter. These things can be provided by plants in your yard, and you can supplement with feeders.
If you want to attract birds, you should use your entire yard. Also, think about all the vertical space you have available from tall trees to short perennial flowers. Plant trees, shrubs and flowers that provide both shelter and food for the birds. Tonya lists good tree, shrub, and vine choices. She also talks about feeders that provide seeds, fruit and suet. You can also provide birdhouses. To attract butterflies, you need to think in two ways. First, you need to plant host plants for the caterpillars. Caterpillars are very choosy about what plant they will eat so you can attract a certain species by planting a certain host plant. Second, adult butterflies – and hummingbirds – feed from nectar plants. Tonya gives a list of some of these plants. Bees are attracted to blue and yellow flowers. They will be attracted to many of the same flowers as the butterflies. Also, you can provide a place for solitary bees to lay eggs. You can make a bee hotel out of a block of wood and Tonya explains how. May 19, 2018 Related Resources: Attracting Birds to Your Yard Attracting Butterflies to the Garden Attracting Native Bees to Your Landscape |
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Keeping Your Orchid Alive
Orchid expert Randall Bayer talks about keeping your orchid alive and happy. Orchids live on trees in tropical areas. Their roots absorb water from the almost daily rains in those areas. The tree bark where they are growing then quickly dries out. The orchids store the water in special structures called pseudo bulbs or in their leaves.
Orchids for sale in stores are usually potted in sphagnum peat moss. The peat moss holds water and does not let the orchid roots dry out between watering like they do in the wild. This means that without special attention, the roots will rot, and the plant will die in a short time. To keep the plant from dying the orchid must be repotted. Randall repots an orchid purchased in a grocery store and shows and explains all the steps. May 12, 2018 Related Resources: Growing Orchids in the Home Growing orchids for beginners Phalaenopsis and Paphiopedilum species; easy orchids to grow as houseplants |
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Planting Summer Flowers
TSU Extension Agent Joellen Dimond plants summer annuals in the Family Plot flower bed. This is the sixth group of flowers Joellen has planted in this bed. Over the last three years she has taken the bed from compact soil left after construction to rich loose amended soil.
Last fall she planted dusty miller and pansies. It is getting warm and it is time to pull out the pansies, but the dusty miller will continue to grow through the summer. To replace the pansies, she is planting: Bat Face Cuphea, Angelonia ‘Big Blue’, Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’, and begonias. Because some of the winter plants are staying Joellen does not turn over the soil. She pulls out the pansies, applies a slow release fertilizer, and plants. Then she replaces the mulch that she removed from the bed. May 12, 2018 Related Resources: Flowering Annuals for Georgia Gardens Annuals for Part to Full Shade Growing Annual Flowers |
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Lawn Fertilization
UT Extension Agent Booker T. Leigh answers some common questions about lawn fertilization. Booker talks about warm season Bermuda and zoisia grasses. You should fertilize three times per growing season. For zoisia make sure you wait until June to fertilize. There are three main parts to fertilizer: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Nitrogen (N) helps the grass green up and only stays in the soil for a few weeks. Then it needs to be reapplied. The other two, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), help the root system grow. They stay in the soil for much longer. Because P and K stay in the soil, it is possible you can fertilize to the point that you can have too much P and K. A soil test will tell you how much you will need. When you fertilize your lawn make two passes perpendicular to each other each using half the fertilizer. This will make the application more even. If some fertilizer lands on the sidewalk or driveway sweep it up and put it back on the lawn. A soil test is important. Not only does it tell you what fertilizer to add, but it will also give you the pH of your soil. Having the correct pH will do more for your lawn than fertilizer. If the pH is wrong the grass will not be able to absorb the nutrients it needs to grow.
May 5, 2018 Related Resources: Fertilization & Management of Home Lawns (warm season) Fertilizing Lawns Cool-Season Grasses: Lawn Maintenance Calendar |
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Spring Shrub Check-up – One Year After Planting
TSU extension Agent Joellen Dimond takes a look at a bed of shrubs that was planted one year ago. The plants are doing well, and all have grown since they were planted. The Florida anise has some leaf spots on old leaves but there is new growth that looks good. The Dwarf Yaupon Holly is doing well and is growing. The Anthony Waterer Spirea has grown and has buds but has aphids on the new growth. Joellen does not want to spray because there are also beneficial predators that are eating the aphids. The Ogon Sweet Flag is doing well too. Some of the blades on each plant are brown and dead because of the colder than normal winter, but it will grow back. The Ogon plants are also blooming. The Stella de Oro Daylily has grown and is getting ready to bloom. The Canna has also grown and looks to be doing well. Finally, the Plumbago is just starting to come back up from the soil. It is late because of the cool spring, so this is nothing to be concerned about. There are also many small weeds in the bed. Joellen recommends pulling them up while they are small. Another option is to wipe a little glyphosate on each one.
Watch Joellen plant these shrubs May 5, 2018 Related Resources: Care of Ornamental Plants in the Landscape The Cornell Guide for Planting and Maintaining Trees and Shrubs Basic Principles of Pruning Woody Plants |
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BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis)
Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison talks about BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis). BT targets caterpillars. It is a stomach poison. For BT to work the pest must eat some of the plant so you will see some leaf damage. BT is not harmful to humans or other animals or beneficial insects. BT is available as a liquid concentrate, wettable power or dust. Mike shows how to apply BT dust and wettable power spray. Make sure you get good spray or dust coverage on both sides of the leaves.
May 5, 2018 Related Resources: Bacillus Thuringiensis Home and Garden: Bacillus Thuringiensis |