Looking for Reliable Lawn and Garden Information?

Plenty of homeowners like to solve their own lawn and garden problems by looking for information online, but most of us have learned that not all internet sources are equally reliable.

Luckily for those who prefer to do a little of their own research before calling in additional help, Extension specialists at UGA and other land-grant universities have written publications about many lawn, garden, and landscape problems and other topics, and these research-based publications are available to the public.

The UGA Extension Publications webpage has two "Search" boxes that can be used to find relevant publications for many problems. One search box is in the upper right portion of the page, and the other is on the left, farther down the page. Both boxes work equally well.

To use them, just type in a search word or two, click on the "go" button, then wait to see the results. The first few publications in the results list tend to be most relevant, but sometimes a potentially useful publication shows up later in the list, so it's a good idea to look beyond the first several publication titles.

For example, a search using the word "ponds" brings up publications about managing ponds during drought, oxygen depletion in ponds, and using chemicals in pond management. The next few titles in the list are about cattle, irrigation, and wastewater treatment, but then a publication about fertilizing ponds for sport fish production shows up on "page 2" of the results. In other words, the results list for this particular search is a cornucopia of publications on many aspects of ponds and their uses!

For UGA, the Extension Publications page also can be used to find information about household pests, soil and water testing, vegetables, orchards, turfgrass, forage crops, wildlife food plots, canning, food safety, radon testing, and many more topics.

It occasionally happens that a topic of interest doesn't appear in the results list. Sometimes, this is because UGA specialists just haven't written about that topic yet. In those cases, reliable publications sometimes are available though regionally appropriate sources at Clemson University Extension, North Carolina State University Extension, and Alabama Extension System.

Of course, reliable information can also be obtained through your local Extension office!

Upcoming Events

Planning the Fall Vegetable Garden

Thursday, July 24, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Amy Whitney, of UGA Extension/Cobb County, will explain what to grow, when to plant, and how to find space for the fall garden.  Class will be held in the second floor classroom at 678 South Cobb Drive, Marietta, GA, 30060. Free program, but please preregister by calling 770-528-4070.

Thyme to Read

Friday, Aug 8, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Debut of garden-oriented book club, sponsored by Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County, will be held at the Training Room of the Cobb County Water lab, 662 South Cobb Drive (at the intersection with Atlanta Rd.). The book for this first meeting is The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. September’s book will be A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson. Free program series is open to the public.

Weed ID for Weed Control

Friday, Aug 8, noon – 1:00 p.m. Neil Tarver, of UGA Extension/Cobb County, will help us identify weeds in order to select the most effective means of control, as part of the ongoing Lunch & Learn series of the Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County, at the Training Room of the Cobb County Water lab, 662 South Cobb Drive (at the intersection with Atlanta Rd.). Free and open to the public.

The Annual Sequence of Blooms Beloved by Worker Honeybees

Tuesday, Aug 12, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Master Gardener and beekeeper Rita Buehner will tell us how to keep our yards blooming to help the bees, as part of the ongoing Gardeners Night Out presentation series of the Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County, at East Cobb Regional Library, 4880 Lower Roswell Rd., Marietta, 30068. Free and open to the public.

ALSO, come to the Marietta Square Farmer’s Market and meet Cobb Extension staff and some of our Master Gardener Extension Volunteers. We will be there from 8:30 a.m. to noon on July 26 and August 30 to answer questions on canning, food preservation, lawns and gardens. Bring sick plants (or large pieces of them) for help with diagnosis and treatment options, and bring bugs for identification.

Cobb Community Gardens meeting July 17

The next quarterly meeting of Cobb Community Gardens (CCG) is coming up!

July 17, 2014

6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Cobb Extension office

(second floor classroom)   

678 South Cobb Drive

Marietta, 30060

The speaker for the evening will be Bobby Wilson, immediate past president of the American Community Garden Association, with a Q & A to follow. Mr. Wilson also is President and CEO of Metro Atlanta Urban Farm and Program Director for the UGA Extension/Atlanta Urban Gardening program.

CCG was formed with the goal of supporting and promoting community gardens throughout Cobb County, and its meetings are open to everyone interested in community gardens.

For additional information about either the meeting or the group, please feel welcome to call the Cobb Extension office at 770-528-4070.