Information Ideas, Tips & Guides

Hurricane Helene cast tropical storm forced winds over most of South Carolina Friday as she tore through Florida and Georgia. The western part of the state took the brunt of the damage and large areas there remain without power as of this morning (9/30). Rivers also continue to rise as floodwaters from western North Carolina make their way to the coast.

Fall is here and that means care for your lawn and garden will differ greatly from the spring and summer months. As colder temperatures roll in, it may be time to start prioritizing other gardening tasks and stop others like mowing your lawn.

Happy Monday GPODers!

The infertility journey can be stressful, overwhelming, and lonely as it is not often discussed in the public eye. Individuals struggling to start a family may feel anxious, nervous, and isolated. Because infertility can be so unpredictable, couples may often feel confused and even a little helpless. The inability to reproduce naturally can cause shame, guilt, and low self-esteem. This can not only cause depression and anxiety but affects daily life. Managing stress healthily and using coping strategies can promote an overall healthy mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

The Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) team visited the Atlanta Botanical Garden in late August. The garden was full of blooms despite the sweltering heat. One plant that caught my eye was a vine called evergreen wisteria (Callerya reticulata, formerly Millettia reticulata). It was full of fragrant dark purple blooms. Its showy flowers were in clusters or racemes, like spring-blooming wisteria, but held outward instead of downward. Evergreen wisteria is native to Asia and is in the Fabaceae (legume) family with wisteria. Unlike Chinese (Wisteria sinensis) and Japanese (Wisteria floribunda) wisteria, it is not invasive.

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Including carbohydrates or carbs in meals can be confusing. What foods contain carbs? Which carbs are good for me? Which ones should I avoid?

You've likely heard that burying banana peels in your garden is a good way to add important nutrients to the soil to grow healthy plants. Banana peels do contain nutrients, but not as many as you may think. Plus, it's not as simple as placing them in the soil and skipping fertilizer or compost.

Interior designer Veere Grenney's garden in Tangier

What is causing this lawn to turn brown even though it has received over 5 inches of rain so far this month?

Happy Friday GPODers!

This time of year, many caterpillars are actively feeding on trees throughout the state. These spikey little caterpillars will turn into the IO moth, a species common throughout South Carolina.

The Coastal and Pee Dee regions have been drying out from Tropical Storm Debby. Fall crops are being planted in many areas. Peach harvest is coming to a close and muscadine harvest will begin soon. Disease pressure has really kicked up. See details below.

Most of the problems balcony gardeners face are universal, so we’ve compiled basic and common problems with their answers, hoping that these tips and answers will help you create a wonderful balcony garden.

The coastal region and Pee Dee saw lots of rain and flooding in places from Tropical Storm Debby last week. As field conditions improve this week, please document any crop or infrastructure impacts from the storm by using the ESF-17 form. The information collected will be used to estimate the statewide agricultural impact of TS Debby. Please note this form is for agricultural impacts only. Extension agents will also be helping to collect this information this week.

MyPlate, a visual nutritional tool from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, supports incorporating positive dietary practices by encouraging the consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and dairy in schools, governmental programs, and homes. MyPlate recommends 2 cups of whole fruit per day for an individual 14 years of age or older on a 2,000-calorie diet. A great choice of fruit to incorporate on your plate for August would be a melon. Melons can be a summertime favorite or a simple sweet treat!

Fortunately, Hurricane Debby blew through South Carolina, but she left behind standing water, damaged trees, and other landscape issues. After the storm, homeowners can be left with a real mess to clean up in their yards. The Clemson Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) has compiled some answers to the most commonly asked questions we receive regarding saltwater intrusion and storm damage to landscapes affected.

Most gardeners are familiar with the USDA plant hardiness zone map, which represents cold hardiness. But cold hardiness only indicates one aspect of a plant’s preferred conditions. Its ability to tolerate heat is equally important. You might have seen heat zones listed along with hardiness zones on your plant labels, but what do they mean? The following info will help you better understand and use this valuable gardening tool.

There are countless ornamental grasses to choose from, so narrowing down a list of my favorites is tough. However, the following assortment—categorized by their best season of interest—is a good start. Choosing at least one from each season will ensure that your grass-forward garden always has something spectacular going on.

What Month Should You Sow Kale?

Correctly identifying grasses is no easy task, but it is crucial when it comes to maintaining a lawn. Incorrect identification can lead to improper management practices, resulting in a poor quality stand or even plant death. Two warm-season turfgrasses commonly used in South Carolina lawns but often misidentified are centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides) and St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum). Both types of grass produce stolons, commonly called runners, and inflorescence (seedheads or flowers) that, at first glance, can appear similar.

Foot care is crucial in managing diabetes and greatly affects our overall health and well-being. Almost 50 percent of people living with diabetes do not have any symptoms of neuropathy in their feet. This means that they are living with neuropathy and the effects of it without even noticing. Although different types of diabetic neuropathy can affect people who have diabetes, research suggests that up to one-half of people with diabetes have peripheral neuropathy. More than 30 percent of people with diabetes have autonomic neuropathy.

Recently, the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) has been receiving photos of coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) that are malformed and green. The plants are infected with aster yellows, a bacterial phytoplasma (a type of bacterium that does not have cell walls). Aster leafhoppers (Macrosteles quadrillineatus) carry the pathogen and infect the plant tissue when they feed on it. They are small olive-green to tan insects with wedge-shaped bodies. Adults are 1/8 in length and have three pairs of spots on their heads.

If your refrigerator has a built-in ice maker, you probably use it frequently. Whether your freshly made ice keeps your water frosty during the day or serves as an after-dinner drink spruce up, the machine can stay busy and needs to be cleaned accordingly. Although modern fridges typically warn you when the water filter needs to be changed, they don’t tell you when the ice maker needs a good scrubbing—so cleaning out the ice maker is often a neglected household chore.

What caused the stippling on this eggplant leaf?

When the warm weather arrives, it signals the opportunity to turn attention to refreshing or reworking outdoor spaces. Here are a few ideas to effect some big or small changes so outdoor living is even more enjoyable this season.

A new report from a federal watchdog calls the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) into question over its 2018 decision to register three dicamba herbicides. 

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Half way to #30DaysWild I've tracked something every month of the year so far, from my diet through to screen time. This month it's the turn of the Wildlife Trust's 30 Days Wild initiative and I'm having a great time adding a bird's foot, plus a little drawing of what I've observed that day to my tracker.

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Show your green-fingered father figures how much they mean to you with our Fathers’ Day gardening gift guide. To help them create the garden of their dreams we’ve picked out some of our favourite  expert-tested, Best Buy winning gardening tools, and added some gardening themed treats. From beer to planters and pizza ovens to seeds, there’s something for everyone.

Summer temperatures are here. This also means more weeds, insects, and other pests in yards. It is tempting to spray pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, etc.) in the yard while wearing shorts and short-sleeve shirts. Is this safe, though?

Last month, the EPA passed its first-ever legally enforceable drinking water standards on a handful of PFAS—a group of chemicals used to make non-stick coatings and products that resist heat, oil, water and more. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are toxic chemicals and are often referred to as “forever chemicals” because of their tendency to not break down.

In previous coverage, we’ve told you about PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that don’t readily break down and can accumulate in humans, causing serious health problems.