UGA Cooperative Extension Jones County

UGA Extension - Hart, Jones, Stephens, and Wilkes Counties have partnered to host a virtual Landscape Management Seminar on February 22 from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM. Landscape industry professionals are invited to register at https://tinyurl.com/landscape2021 Four hours of Category 24 Pesticide Credit will be available. For questions please call the UGA Cooperative Extension Jones County Office at 478-986-3958

January Gardening Tips As 2021 has begun, many New Year’s resolutions have been made. For those of who set a goal to become a more avid gardener or those of you that just want to get a jump start, this article is for you. Here are some tips that may become useful during this month going forward. Some general maintenance tips include continuing to monitor and water plants, especially those in outdoor window boxes, deadheading flowers when needed, and removing dead limbs or de...bris from trees and shrubs. Also check and remove dust if present on house plants. If guide wires were placed around young trees planted in the fall, check to make sure the wires are still secure in the ground. Heavy frost or other winter weather conditions may have caused them to no longer be secured in the ground. Remember to remove those wires in the spring once the roots have become established. If not already done, January is a good time to collect and submit soil samples for analysis. Soil sampling now still allows for adequate planning and enables you to have greater success in your garden. It will save you money, but not wasting or purchasing extra fertilizer. Soil sampling is also important if you have been dumping ashes in your gardening area. The ashes could alter the pH of the soil making it not suitable for certain plants. January is a great time to start preparing flower beds and planting bare root roses. While preparing flower beds would be a great time to check for any other bulb exposure in your yard due to possible spells of warmer weather. If some bulbs are starting to expose, applying a thicker mulch around them will help protect them for the cold winter weather. January is also a good time to transplant shrubs while they are still in the winter dormancy period. January/February is a good time to prune muscadine and grape vines as well. Waiting to late into the season could cause some damage to the vines. Now would be a good time to start doing any necessary maintenance or tune ups to your lawn care equipment. Also make sure that your liquid pesticides are protected for the cold weather. At storage temperatures below what is listed on the label, pesticides can lose their effectiveness. A great way to check if a pesticide is still usable, is the presence or absence of crystals. If the pesticide has crystals in the solution when it returns to room temperature then it is no longer usable and should be disposed of as instructed on the label by the manufacturer. For more information on gardening tips please call the Jones County Extension Office at 478-986-3958. You can also refer to other publications on the UGA Publication Website or the season calendar by Walter Reeves. See more

Join us on February 2 at noon to learn more about staying radon safe in Georgia!

What’s that Sticky Weed in My Yard? Many of us cannot wait for spring to appear and bring with it warmer weather. We are dreaming of fresh blooms, green grass, and walking barefoot through our yards. However, as some of us have realized, walking barefoot can turn into quite the sticky situation if lawn burweed is present in the yard. If you want to save your feet some pain, now is the time to treat your lawn, according to Georgia Cooperative Extension agents. Lawn burweed is... a winter annual and a member of the Aster family. The weed germinates in the early fall and remains essentially unnoticed through the cold winter months. With early spring comes warmer temperatures, and lawn burweed enters a period of rapid growth and begins to form spine-tipped burrs, often called stickers. The weed also develops opposite, sparsely hairy leaves that are divided into numerous segments and small, inconspicuous flowers in addition to the spine-tipped burrs found in the leaf axils. The good news is that when treated with herbicides in January, February, and March, lawn burweed can be effectively controlled. UGA Extension weed scientist Dr. McCullough states that as the weed matures, lawn burweed gains enhanced tolerance levels to most post-emergence herbicides so controlling it in late winter provides more effective control that applications later in the spring. Lawn weeds come in lots of different colors, leaf sizes, shapes, and growth habits. Weeds detract from the natural beauty of desirable turfgrasses. Without control, many weeds can quickly become the dominant species in a lawn. From a cultural control standpoint, a healthy lawn can be maintained by fertilization and liming according to soil test results. Mowing at the correct heights and frequencies for your specific turfgrass will help reduce the number of weeds found in your yard. Healthy turfgrasses can better outcompete weeds for light, water, and nutrients which can eliminate or reduce the risk of infestation. For chemical control options or to schedule a site visit, please call the Jones County Extension Office at 478-986-3958 or email Michael Abney at [email protected]. See more

Live Christmas Trees We have entered the holiday season. Christmas decorations are going up, lights are being hung, and Christmas trees are being purchased for display during this festive season. My daughter is actually touring a Christmas tree farm this week with her class and will cut a tree to have in their classroom this season. While a tree can be festive, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension has several considerations for consumers to be mindful of when choosing ...Continue reading