Greetings from Athens, GA! I am happy to join the group of contributors to the Garden Professors blog. My name is Pam Knox, and I am an agricultural climatologist in Extension at the University of Georgia as well as the Director of the UGA Weather Network and a former State Climatologist from Wisconsin. While I don’t claim to be an expert in gardening, I do know a thing or two about how weather and climate affect plants and hope to share some of that expertise with you over time.… Continue reading this article “The weather where you are”
Month: January 2021
Not all Extension publications are created equal
(A friendly caveat – this post does not lend itself well to images. So the pictures here are simply eye candy from my 2019 trip to London to reward you for considering this visually drab but important topic.)
I’ve been involved in Extension education for 17 years and one of the most important things I’ve learned is that Extension audiences want information that’s easily understood and has obvious practical use.… Continue reading this article “Not all Extension publications are created equal”
Tiny plants that pack a flavor and nutrition punch: getting in on the microgreen trend
If you do any searching for gardening (or even think about the color green), you’re likely bombarded with adds on social media and search engines about all stuff gardening. One of the recent trends is microgreen production. There’s all kinds of fancy little systems and gizmos that will help you grow microgreens for a price. But what are microgreens? Are they the same thing as sprouts? And do they have the same food safety issues as sprouts? … Continue reading this article “Tiny plants that pack a flavor and nutrition punch: getting in on the microgreen trend”
Pruning Paints Debunked
When my turn comes up to blog for the Garden Professor site I like to reflect on the horticulture in my own gardens and orchard. Right now I am focused on pruning my old apple and stone fruit orchard. It has suffered bear attacks, drought, and mismanagement before we arrived in 2018. The previous owners were very aware of the need to treat pruning cuts large and small. The remnants of tree wound dressings are found all through our orchard and range from white latex paint to silicone caulk.… Continue reading this article “Pruning Paints Debunked”
The complicated issue of heavy metals in residential soils. Part 3: How can we garden safely in the presence of heavy metals?
This is the last part of our discussion on gardening in soils that contain heavy metals (you can catch up on part 1 and part 2 if you need to). Today we’ll focus on the strategies you can use in your gardens and landscapes to reduce your exposure to soil-borne heavy metals.
Test your soil!
First – and this should really go without saying – you must test your soil to determine if it contains heavy metals of concern.… Continue reading this article “The complicated issue of heavy metals in residential soils. Part 3: How can we garden safely in the presence of heavy metals?”