Why bluegrass will never survive in a southern lawn
People move down here from Ohio, look at the thin patchy grass everyone has, and decide they are going to have a proper lawn. They buy Kentucky bluegrass seed. By August it is…
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Why your southern lawn needs aeration before summer starts
Compacted soil is the most common thing wrong with the lawns I get called to, and almost nobody identifies it themselves, because it does not look like anything. The grass is just…
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What killing fifty houseplants taught me about watering
I am a master gardener of thirty years standing and I killed a great many houseplants before I understood what I was doing wrong. The number in the title is conservative.
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What your weeds are trying to tell you about your soil
Weeds are opportunists and they are specific about which opportunity they take. A plant that colonises your garden without being invited is telling you what conditions you have,…
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How to fix standing water in your yard after a storm
Water standing in a yard for more than a day after the rain stops is a drainage problem, and around here it is usually one of three things.
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How to stop tomato blight before it ruins your harvest
There are two things people call blight and they behave completely differently. Getting them mixed up is why so much advice does not work.
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Why your southern clay soil is killing your plants
The red clay in this part of the southeast is not bad soil. It is mineral rich and it holds nutrients extremely well. What it does not do is let water and air move through it, and…
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How to build a successful shade garden in the humid south
Shade is not one thing, and getting a shade garden right starts with being honest about which kind you have.
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How to keep deer from eating your backyard hostas
Deer eat hostas the way I eat crisps. Not because they are starving. Because they are there and they are delicious.
