Category: Uncategorized

There’s a new report out from University of Copenhagen on killing weeds between paving stones. What they recommend is burning or steaming the weeds lightly and repeatedly. Boiling water, steam, even flamers can be used to wilt the leaves over the course of several treatments (six was recommended). This process damages the leaves beyond repair, slowly starving the roots to death.

I’m not sure exactly how I feel about this study (which is getting a lot of attention on the internet).… Continue reading this article “Hot new method of weed control?”

Admitting you’re wrong is difficult.   For exhibit A see the recent discussion between me and Jeff over alternative nursery containers.  We all like to think we’re open-minded but  when push comes to shove we all end up like the Fonz on Happy Days when it comes time to say ‘I was wrrrrr… I was wrrrr….  I was not exactly right.”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwkU8-d1gIk   As scientists we’re supposed to be objective and base our judgments on verifiable data and careful and repeatable observations.… Continue reading this article “How open-minded are you? No, really.”

I can’t decide if I like the fact that various companies read what I write or not. On the one hand, it’s kind of nice to know they care, but on the other, I kind of like to think that I can talk to people without them hanging over my shoulder.

How do I know they’re there over my shoulder?

They send me stuff.  Sometimes it’s a nasty or "educational" e-mail after I’ve published something about their product that they don’t like, and sometimes it’s a gift bag (or an offer of a gift bag) if I mention that I like something.… Continue reading this article “Are Goodies Bad?”

My wife and I were in Washington DC a few weeks back for a wedding.  I’ve been to DC a handful of times and it is one of my all-time favorite places to visit.  I love history so the memorials, monuments and Smithsonian museums are all high on my list.  But DC has a lot to offer plant geeks as well.  In honor of Memorial Day and the unofficial start of summer vacation season, here are my top three DC Horticultural Highlights.… Continue reading this article “A Horticultural Tour of Washington DC”

Today I’m going to throw up a post that’s a little link-heavy, but I encourage you to follow these links because they show how prevalent the technology is that I discuss.  And a trip to the garden center will quickly show how infrequently this technology is used.

It’s frustrating.

Why the heck do we still buy plants grown in containers using 1950s technology?  I was reading Bert’s post this week about how to treat container grown trees before planting and also considering a somewhat similar experiment which I conducted about a year ago (stats are in and support my points in that article), and I couldn’t help asking, why do we put ourselves through it?… Continue reading this article “Stuck in the 1950s”

It’s been a busy spring around the Cregg lab.  In many ways, it feels more like mid-summer than mid-May.  One of the items my students and I have been with is installation of the Social Media Designed Tree Transplant Study (SoMeDedTreeS).  As loyal Garden Professor blog readers will recall, we conducted a Survey Monkey poll last fall to help develop a study plan to investigate tree transplanting practices of container-grown trees.  Based on the results of the survey we designed a study to look the effects of root-ball manipulation and post-transplant fertilization on 96 planetrees.… Continue reading this article “Research in real time”

OK, here’s a question for you.  How much would you pay for an online course taught by professors (perhaps garden professors?) about plants and gardening including things like fertilizers, pest control, etc.?

Hour long lectures once a week (through Skype or something similar) with an additional 1/2 hour built in for questions?  12 weeks of lectures.  No college credit.

I haven’t talked to the other garden professors about it — this is purely a hypothetical question for now. … Continue reading this article “How Much Would You Pay?”

I’ve had an on-going discussion – OK, argument – with a fellow faculty member who does research on social dimensions of forestry, including urban forestry.  She contends that we basically know everything we need to know about growing trees in cities and that the real underlying problems in urban and community forestry these days are social issues.  This, of course, means that funding for urban forestry research, what little there is, should be directed at social sciences.… Continue reading this article “Something to grate on your nerves”

I’m not going to sugar coat it – I’ve been too cavalier in recommending iron phosphate for slugs and snails. 

A few days ago Erin Harris put a comment in my post about dandelions asking whether those iron phosphate baits you can buy for slugs might also be toxic to earthworms.  The answer is yes – they might.  And not only that, these iron phosphate baits can also be toxic to other animals such as dogs.… Continue reading this article “Upon Further Review…Iron Phosphate for Slugs and Snails”

Well, students just finished finals here at MSU so I suppose it’s appropriate we put our faithful GP readers through their own gauntlet of quizzes…

Top marks to Terry for determining the damage on the conifer seedlings was due to incomplete overlap on the sprinklers the grower used for frost protection during our most recent freeze.  Our record-setting March warm up pushed budbreak ahead by about a month in most locations in the state.  Fruit crops (cherries, grapes, blueberries, and peaches) have been devastated but nursery crops and landscape trees came through relative unscathed until the freeze the weekend before last.