Video Segments
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Building a Self-Watering Houseplant Pot
Most houseplants like even moisture, but it can be hard to maintain the right amount of moisture. Dixon Gallery and Gardens Volunteer Coordinator Tonya Ashworth shows how to build a pot that will keep your houseplants watered for up to two weeks and shows when it needs more water. The system works by using another larger pot as a reservoir for the water, and capillary mat fabric to wick the water up to the plant. Tonya also shows how to build a water level indicator and then hide the system with Spanish moss.
Related Video: Repotting Houseplants Related Resource: Self-Watering Containers May 22, 2020 |
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How to Read Garden Chemical Labels
Knowing how to read chemical labels is critical for safely using garden pesticides. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison shows and explains the main parts of a pesticide label. He us using liquid Sevin for the demonstration but the same principles apply for all garden chemical labels.
The federal government requires certain things to be on a label. On the front of every container is the list of the ingredients. There are long instructions attached to the container, usually a booklet on the back. The booklet contains first aid information for exposure. It also has information for physicians if someone has been poisoned by the chemical. The booklet contains information on if or how the chemical is harmful to the environment or pets. It also contains the words “It is a violation of Federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.” Because of this, the only allowed uses of the chemical is what is specified on the label. The label also talks about how to store and dispose of the chemical. Then the label talks about specific application rates, insects, timing, etc. There are signal words on the front of every container (in order of seriousness): Caution, Warning, and Danger. Most chemicals available to homeowners are listed as caution because they have low toxicity. Restricted use pesticides often carry the Warning or Danger signal words which indicate a higher toxicity. In all cases the label is the law. The label needs to stay with the chemical. You cannot store the chemical in another container without the label. Related Videos: Pesticide Lifespan and Storage Pesticide Modes of Action Related Resources: Reading and Understanding Pesticide Labels Understanding the Pesticide Label May 22, 2020 |
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Planting a Butterfly Garden
TSU Extension Agent Joellen Dimond plants a butterfly garden and explains why she picked the plants she is planting. She also makes a place for the butterflies to get water and sun themselves.
Joellen has picked a combination of perennials and annuals. Some are useful to the adult butterfly and some are eaten by the larvae. All of them have bright colored flowers which attract the butterflies. Also, all the plants have the same growing requirements: full sun and drier conditions. Joellen also plants some herbs that the butterflies will like. For more information, including a list of all the plants, click here. Related Resources: Butterfly Gardening Butterfly Gardening |
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Japanese Maple Basics
UT Extension Horticulturist Carol Reese talks about different kinds of Japanese maples and some considerations when growing them. The traditional Japanese maple form is produced by a grafted plant which is why they are so expensive. You can grow trees from seed but the traditional weeping form is obtained from grafting. There are thousands of cultivars of Japanese maple and Carol talks about a few that do well in the southern United States. Carol also talks about some of the diseases and insects that attack Japanese maples.
Related Resources: Acer palmatum: Japanese Maple Japanese Maple |
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Straw Bale Gardening
If you don’t have a place to grow a garden or your ground is bad, a straw bale garden is a great option. Dixon Gallery and Garden Volunteer Coordinator Tonya Ashworth shows how to prepare and plant a straw bale garden. In a straw bale garden, the plants grow in the straw instead of soil.
Before a straw bale can be planted it needs to start decomposing. Tonya shows how to start the process and what to do to the bale each day. Once the Bale is starting to decompose, planting is straight forward, and Tonya shows how to plant tomato plants and zucchini seeds. She also talks about fertilizing the plants through the growing season. At the end of the season you can compost the bale or use the straw to mulch. Related Video: Planting an Herb and Flower Container Garden Related Resources: Straw Bale Gardening Straw Bale Gardening |
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Garden Fertilizer Math
How do you know how much fertilizer to spread on your yard? You will probably need to do some math. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison shows how to figure out how big your yard is and then do the math to determine how much fertilizer to spread. He gives an example and walks through the steps.
Related Resources: Calculating the Amount of Fertilizer Needed for Your Home Fertilizing Your Garden Fertilizing Your Lawn |
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Disease Resistant Apple Trees
There are over 5000 varieties of apple, and some are better suited to home gardens due to disease resistance. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison outlines 14 varieties that are resistant to the major diseases of apple: apple scab, fire blight, Juniper rust (cedar apple rust), and powdery mildew. You won’t see these varieties in the grocery store because they are not the popular varieties, which tend to be susceptible to these diseases. Even if the trees are resistant to these diseases, you should still spray because there are many other disease and insect problems. The disease resistance of these trees can help the homeowner if a spray is missed.
Related Video: Apple Tree Diseases Pruning Apple Trees Related Resources: Disease Susceptibility of Common Apple Cultivars |
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Planting Potted Roses
Planting roses correctly will help them get off to a good start. Rose Expert Bill Dickerson shows how to plant a potted rose. Bill recommends getting your rose from a nursery in the spring. Preparing the hole is important and Bill shows how he does it by adding gravel, soil, fertilizer, and Epsom salts. He also shows how to plant the rose in such a way as to not disturb the young roots in the pot. Once the rose is in the ground he talks about mulching the young rose and about how to prune it.
Related Video: Q&A – How do you root roses from clippings? Related Resources: Site Selection, Bed Preparation and Planting of Roses Selecting and Planting Roses |
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Spraying Peach Trees
Retired Extension Agent Mike Dennison shows how to spray a peach tree. Before you spray, read the label and follow the safety guidelines on it. Wear long pants, a long sleeve shirt, and rubber gloves. It is likely the spray will drift onto you so the protective gear is important. The tree Mike is spraying is about 8 feet tall and 8 feet in diameter so he needs between half a gallon and a gallon of spray. The tree he is spraying still has some blooms, so he will not be spraying an insecticide on this application. He will be spraying a fungicide to try to control brown rot. Mike uses a fan nozzle on his sprayer. He sprays the top and bottom of the leaves along with the limbs and trunk. Spray almost to the point of runoff. Because the tree was pruned to an open center it is easy to spray.
Related Video: Pruning Nectarines, Peaches, and Plums Related Resources: Disease and Insect Control on Home Fruit Plantings Fruit Spray Schedules for the Homeowner Managing Pests in Home Fruit Plantings |
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Setting Up a Bird Feeder
Debbie Bruce from Wild Birds Unlimited shows how to set up a bird feeder on a pole. The pole system she is using allows for two feeders to be hung at the same time. One feeder she loads with bird seed and the other feeder with suet. This selection will attract a range of birds to the feeders. There are squirrels and raccoons that live in the area so Debbie installs a baffle to keep them from climbing the pole and also sites the feeder at least 12 feet away from trees so squirrels cannot jump to the feeder.
Related Video: TWIG - Bird Feeders Hanging a Hummingbird Feeder – Family Plot Related Resources: Feeding Wild Birds Attracting Backyard Birds: Bird Feeder Selection Bird Feeding - Tips for Beginners & Veterans |
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Horticultural Oils
Horticultural oils provide a safer way to control insects, scales, mites, and eggs on plants. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison talks about the different kinds of oils, and shows how to mix, and apply oils. Oils are contact insecticides, they only kill the insects and eggs that are directly sprayed. There is no residual effect. To be effective you need to spray the entire plant. Complete coverage is important, spray from all angles and make sure the spray goes into all the cracks in the bark of trees. Any place you miss is where the insects will survive. Oils should only be used in a certain temperature range. They work best in lower humidity. All the specifics for the kind you are using, how to mix, and application instructions can be found on the label.
Related Video: Spraying Dormant Oil Related Resources: General Comments about the Use of Horticultural Oil Insect Control: Horticultural Oils |
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Beneficial Garden Bugs
Garden expert Tonya Ashworth talks about different kinds of beneficial bugs that you find in the garden. She focuses on predatory bugs: braconid wasp, green lacewing, minute pirate bug, spider, and praying mantis. Each of these bugs feed on another bug that would be considered a garden pest. Some of these beneficials can eat thousands of harmful insects in their lifetime. Tonya talks about what each beneficial bug likes to eat and what you can do to attract each of them to your garden.
Related Resources: Beneficial Insects, Spiders, and Other Mini Creatures in Your Garden Beneficial Insects in the Yard and Garden Beneficial Insects and other Arthropods |
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Planting Cabbage, Broccoli and Cauliflower
Cabbage, Broccoli, and Cauliflower are all in the brassica family. They are sometimes called cole crops. UT Extension Haywood County Director Walter Battle shows how to plant them in the home garden. Brassicas can grow in many different soil conditions, but they like well drained soil. Fertilizing can improve results. Generally,they should be planted with 15-inch spacing in rows 36 inches apart. If you have limited space,you can reduce the row spacing to 15-18 inches. They should be planted the same depth as the container,and if you ridge them up or place them on top of a small mound it will improve drainage,and Walter shows how to easily do this while planting. Walter talks about planting radish and mustard,and turnip greens seed.If you plant these plants,they will get the cabbage worm and cabbage looper. Bothcan be stopped by using BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) which is an organic insecticide that kills caterpillars.Cabbage,broccoli, and cauliflower should be transplanted to the garden 30 days before the last frost and will be ready to harvest about 60 days later.
Related Video: Cabbage Related Resources: Growing cabbage in home gardens Broccoli Growing Cauliflower |
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Seven Great Landscape Trees
There are many kinds of trees to choose from and Joellen Dimond, University of Memphis Director of Landscape, talks about some of her favorites. For each variety she talks about the characteristics, climate range, size, and ideal growing conditions:
-Downy Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) -American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) -Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) -Dogwood (Cornus spp.) -Washington Hawthorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum) -Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) -Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) Related Video: Planting a Tree Related Resources: Trees in the Home Landscape Small Deciduous Trees Search for the best tree based on site characteristics |
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Planting Onions
Onions are a simple vegetable to grow in your garden. UT Extension Director Walter Battle shows how to plant several different kinds of onions including seeds, slips, and bulbs. In the field they need to be planted in rows 36 inches apart, but in a small home garden they can be closer together. The individual plants need to be at least 3 inches apart - far enough to let them grow to full size. Walter also talks about how to prepare the soil for planting. He also talks about when onions are ready to harvest and how to prepare them for storage.
Related Video: Onions Related Resources: Onions Growing onions in home gardens Onion, Leek, Shallot, & Garlic |
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Avoiding Common Landscape Mistakes
There are many mistakes a gardener can make when caring for their garden. University of Memphis Director of Landscape Joellen Dimond talks about the ones she sees the most. Some problems she identifies include planting too deep, planting in the wrong place, Scalping grass and impulse buying plants
Related Video: Landscape Principles Related Resources: Planting Landscape Trees and Shrubs Post Scalping Lawn Care Girdling Roots |
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Daffodils
Daffodils come back to beautify the garden year after year. University of Memphis Director of landscape Joellen Dimond explains that daffodils are simple to plant and grow and require little if any maintenance. The American Daffodil Society and Royal Horticultural Society have 13 categories into which they classify daffodils. Joellen talks about each category.
Links to Daffodil Society Webpages: American Daffodil Society (US) The Royal Horticultural Society (UK) The Daffodil Society (UK) Related Videos: Planting Daffodils and Tulips Related Resources: Spring Flowering Bulbs: Daffodils Spring-Flowering Bulbs |
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Pre-Emergent Herbicides
Pre-emergent (or pre-emerge) herbicides are a very useful tool to reduce weeds. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison talks about how to use pre-emergents. Most pre-emergents work by preventing a germinating seed from growing roots. It does not kill weeds that are already growing.
Application timing is important. You need to apply the pre-emerge long before you see any weeds. Mike talks about the best times to apply pre-emergent in the spring and fall. You need to make sure the pre-emerge is labeled for how you want to use it. There are grass pre-emergent and broadleaf pre-emergent herbicides. Also, you need to make sure the product you are using will not affect desirable plants in the area. The label will contain all this information. There are liquid and granular pre-emerge herbicides. Mike prefers liquid because it is less expensive. The granular has an advantage in that it is less particular about when it needs to be watered in. All pre-emergents need to watered-in so they can be in the soil when the weeds germinate. How soon it needs to be watered in can be found on the label. Mike referred to the publication "Lawn Weed Management" get that publication here Related Resources: Applying Pre-Emergent Herbicides to Lawns Managing Weeds in Warm Season Lawns |
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